


My Roommate the Skeleton

by orphan_account



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Asexual Character, F/F, F/M, Female Reader, Fluff and Angst, Named Reader, Reader Is Not Frisk, Slow Burn, all of this started because I thought it'd be funny if sans met my lizard, dealing with depression and insomnia at the same time, etc etc etc, uh drinking I guess counts?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-06-05 05:19:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 87,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6691240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your name is Adelaide, but everybody calls you Addy.</p><p>Your old roommates moved out when their parents learned about the monsters.</p><p>Their replacements are here, and they're skeletons.</p><p>(Mature for language, violence, dick jokes, drinking, etc.)</p><p>NOTE: Fic is incomplete, and I likely wont be returning to it. I'm very sorry :C</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Robert Gives You Some Good News

A few months after the barrier fell, your roommates moved out.

 

It wasn’t their choice, you always told yourself when out in the common area, they had racist parents that controlled their income.

Income from your parents tends to be everything when you’re in college, especially once you hit junior year and realize you’re halfway to those god awful post-graduation debts.

You wished them the best, you told them their parents were stupid and they agreed, but they literally couldn’t afford to stay with you anymore, and you know it was breaking their hearts as much as yours.

So what if monsters were real? So what if they were different? People were unnecessarily cruel, it didn’t even take a full month for people to start getting hostile with them. This town had always been about magic and science and learning. Ebott and the mountain it was named for were odd places to be, just being close to the barrier made your skin tingle! Artsy types loved it here for that reason, they claimed it got creative juices flowing, they’ve been claiming that for centuries, according to the history books.

God you’d been so excited when scientists had tested the border and tried to understand what it was. You knew in your heart that they wouldn’t figure it out, because that barrier was _magic_ , it had to be. And there were things down there, people maybe! That were probably wondering about you as you were wondering about them.

 

Man, they really got the short end of the fucking stick.

  
~———————~

 

You snorted in distaste as you flipped away from the local news station. Another monster kid who was bullied by her human teacher for being a “stupid beast”, just what you needed to hear, right? The teacher hadn’t even been fired, just put on paid leave until she could learn to better behave herself.

“Can you believe this shit, Lucy? They just put the lady in time out, they didn’t do anything.”

Your old, overweight cat made a beeping noise at you before laying her head back down into her paws. You smiled a bit, scratching under her collar. She began to purr, and suddenly your frustration was gone. You were glad for her company, she helped keep you calm on your low days, perhaps because of how long you’d had her. Your smile grew and you reached down to pull her into your lap. She meowed in weak protest, but you and her both knew it was a ruse. You started to scratch her belly when your phone rang. You reached for it to check the ID, then pressed accept. It was just the leasing people downstairs.

“Nyello.”

The guy on the other side laughed.

“Hey there, I know it’s late but I got an update on your look for new roommates.”

Your eyes brightened up, you’d been seriously missing having people around since the others moved out.  
“Yeah? Who are they?”

“Okay so,” his voice changed to that typical business tone as you could hear him clicking away at a scanned application, your lease too if you had to guess. “Says here that you’re comfortable with co-ed, since bedrooms and bathrooms are separate, and that you’ve had this space for approximately three months.”

“Correct.”

“Anyways these two’s backgrounds check out just fine, couple of brothers who’ve been looking at a few apartments around the area for the last week. That fine with you?”

“As long as they aren’t complete dicks, I don’t care at all. Anything else I should know?”

“Uh if you’re available, they should be able to see the place tomorrow at whatever time suits you.”

“Okay, anything else?”

 

“Well...”

 

“Robert.”

 

“Okay, they’re a couple of monsters. That’s fine with you, right?”

There was a pause and for once, you were a bit surprised. Sure monsters moved into open places here all the time, but they kept to themselves. Huh, they must be running out of space.

“You still there?”

You blinked and got back to your conversation. “Yeah, yeah! Sorry. No dude it’s fine like, like I already said, unless they’re complete dicks, I don’t care if they’re human or monster. Have them come over tomorrow, I’ll give them a tour of the place.”

You heard a sigh of relief on the other end.  
“Thank god. I didn’t think those two needed another disappointment after yesterday.”

“What happened Rob?”

“Eh, we had them looking at another apartment a few floors down from you, but the guy there refused to even let them see the place. He hung up as soon as I mentioned.”

“Asshole.” Whoops! You didn’t mean to let that slide.

“I know, I know, anyways thanks for being nice about the whole ordeal. Management knows they can’t kick the guy out for refusing roommates right now, especially since they’re working on changing the policy some more now that we’re letting monsters stay here.”

“Rob, it’s seriously no problem. Give ‘em a call and have them come over tomorrow. What do they look like?”

“The younger one is ridiculously tall and energetic, his older brother is ridiculously short in comparison, and uh just brace yourself for puns alright?”

You know he can’t see it, but you’re smiling.

“Aw Rob, you make it seem like a _pun_ -ishment.”

“... You’re terrible.”

“That’s why we’re friends, dude. Anyways I got some homework to get done, let ‘em know alright!”

“Will do, have a good night.”

“You too.”

 

You hung up and sat down back down. Hell, you didn’t even notice that you’d got up and started to pace. Your cat was staring at you blankly, and you scratched under her chin to apologize. You picked her up and hoisted her up onto your shoulder, moving to turn off the lights. First the one to the tank that held your other pet, a lizard lovingly named “Pancake”, then to the ones in the common room. You retreated to bed, computer on in mere moments.

You were probably about halfway done with that paper for class on monday before you were feeling tired. You closed the lid and set it on the drawers. No use writing when this exhausted, right? Lucy hopped up onto bed while you changed and brushed your teeth, downing something to maybe hopefully encourage sleep.

You lay there under the covers for what seemed like ages, mind unable to shut off from all the excitement. Or was it just the insomnia again? It didn’t help that your cat had decided to stick her butt up near your face, or that you were suddenly realizing that there were piles of dirty dishes in the sink that you should have cleaned, or that your next art project was due next week and you hadn’t even started, or-

You grumbled and flopped over, burying your face in your pillow.

 

You were pretty sure it was four in the morning before you finally passed out.

  


~———————~

 

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**

 

“Wh--”

 

You were awake in an instant, Lucy sitting at the edge of the bed with ears perked towards the door. It wasn’t the bedroom, right? No you’d left that door open last night, too tired to care. Ugh, five more minutes and then you’d check. Maybe it was somebody greeting a neighbor...

 

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**

 

You grumbled. Nope, that was your door, god, what time was it? You grabbed your phone off the nightstand and checked. Eight in the morning, AKA way too early for you to be conscious on a friday. Who was even here this early-

 

_FUCK!_

 

You shot up and leaped out of bed, grabbing for a bra and a shirt of some sort, pulling pj pants on as quickly as you could with a sudden urgency.  
“Just a minute!” You shouted out.  
Fuck, what were they doing here so early? You could hear conversation from here, god you were not ready to be awake yet. You checked yourself in the mirror real quick, fixing your bright hair. The cat continued to stare at you and at the door, though she hadn’t bothered to jump down to investigate. Lazy thing.

You ran out towards the common room and the door to the apartment halls, flinging it open to greet your visitors.

  
Two skeletons stood in the doorway, one obnoxiously tall and one short by comparison. They both smiled at you, and you stood there, wondering what you’d gotten yourself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHOUTOUT TO ONADECORA, FITOFPAGE, AND TOTALSKELETONTRASH FOR PUTTING ME ON THE PATH OF SIN


	2. You're Never Gonna Hear The End of This from Undyne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touring the apartment, talking about your new gym buddy, rules, pets, and two death threats in one day.

Sans stared at you for a while, trying to figure you out. Man, she’d only just opened the door and she was staring back. The guy downstairs had mentioned monsters, right? It was gonna be a big issue if you had a problem with that.

Still, he kept his trademark grin on and kept his hands stuffed in his pockets, trying to discreetly size you up.

“HELLO HUMAN!”

“sup.”

You stared for another minute, and Sans could see out the corner of his eye sockets that Papyrus was getting a little worried. Sans braced for the hate to spew when you opened your mouth.

  
“Holy _shit_ you’re tall.”

A wave of relief washed around the room as Papyrus laughed.  
“I AM INDEED VERY TALL, HUMAN, THOUGH NOT AS TALL AS THE KING AND QUEEN.”

He could see you wince a bit at the voice, and shrugged, holding out a bony hand for you to shake.  
“name’s Sans, the tall one’s my brother Papyrus.”

You stared at his hand for a second before taking it in a quick shake.  
"I’m Adelaide, but please just call me Addy, nice to meet you two. Uh, come on in, it’s a bit messy but I can still let you guys look around.”  
You moved out of the way to let the brothers in, and Sans got a good look around the common room as you closed the door. Certainly better than the last place... Hell, a lot better than the last place. He had to wonder what had you staring like you’d seen a ghost though, she certainly didn’t seem to hate monsters like most humans, but that shock was definitely more than about Papyrus’ height.

 

Well, he’d just see how things went with the tour first.

 

~———————~

 

God, your place was a mess. You rushed them towards the couch and started to apologize profusely.  
“I’m so sorry, I really wasn’t expecting you guys over so early, I would have at least done the dishes... and the laundry, and cleaned Pancake’s cage, and--”  
Papyrus clapped a gloved hand on your shoulder and grinned.

“IT IS QUITE ALRIGHT HUMAN, WE ARE JUST HAPPY THAT YOU ALLOWED US TO SEE YOUR HOME!”

You tried a smile, but you were still somewhat intimidated. Obnoxiously tall, loud, and the walking image of death. Who wouldn’t be a bit nervous? His brother seemed to sense this, as you saw him step in.  
“hey paps, why don’t you go check out the bedrooms? i hear they’re pretty cool.”

They shared a quick look before Papyrus’ grin grew yet again and he started to wander off.  
“OF COURSE BROTHER. THEY MUST BE VERY COOL INDEED.”

You noticed him going down the wrong hall and reached out to his arm to stop him. His humerus was, well, smooth as bone. “Oh! Um, no my bedroom’s that way sorry, the other two bedrooms are the other way.”

He paused, then smiled and patted your head.  
“YES, THANK YOU HUMAN.”  
He moved on past you and disappeared into one of the two rooms down a ways. You sighed a bit in relief.

 

“hey so uh,” you jumped a bit and wheeled around, trying to keep calm, Sans just smiled at you. “sorry kid. look if you’re not comfortable with sharing a place with a couple of monsters, just tell me alright? you don’t have to pretend to be nice for us.”

 

Oh, wow yeah. You must seem like a total asshole now that you think about it. You put up your hands in defense, face getting a little more distressed, even if you were trying to smile.  
“No, no it’s not because you’re monsters, or guys for that matter. I knew what I was signing up for when they said apartments here were co-ed and stuff.” He raised a brow ridge, (you really needed to ask about that at some point), “like monsters are really cool people! There’s this sweet couple that moved in a month ago down the hall, a sheep and a sphinx. I love them to bits, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cuter couple and they’re great neighbors.”  
His smile didn’t change, you were starting to wonder if it was the only expression he could manage with a skull for a face. Oh god, you were rambling weren’t you? Totally rambling. You rubbed your neck nervously.  
“Sorry, it’s early for me and you two are basically strangers and... for a second I thought the grim reaper and his brother had shown up to take me away?"  
  
  
There was an extended silence, then Sans snorted loudly, his grin growing. Somehow, it calmed you down a bit to hear him laugh.  
  
  
“seriously? ‘the grim reaper and his brother’?”

Your face got hot. “Well how would it feel to you if a-- uh, what’s the monster equivalent of a corpse?”

He wiped a tear from his face, looking back at her. “we just sorta turn into dust.”

Huh, weird.

“Well anyways,” you started, “How would you feel if you opened the door and saw that two piles of dust had picked themselves up and decided to pay you a visit? That’d be kinda creepy wouldn’t it?”

He pondered it for a moment then snorted again. “yeah that’d be pretty weird.”

“Yeah,” you confirmed, “‘cuz like. Skeletons are universally associated with death? Because when humans die everything except the bones rot away, and-”

You feel a hand on your shoulder look up, Sans is definitely trying to hush you, though his smile is definitely kinder now.

“it’s cool kiddo I got it. you don’t need to panic.”

You looked at him and sighed.

“Sorry”

“it’s fine.”

“No not about rambling. I’m realizing I’m disappointed that you’re not shorter than I am”

He blinked at you, perplexed.

“Cuz, you know, when Robert said you were really short, I’d hoped he’d meant in general, not in comparison to your giant of a brother. But you’re like, my height? Maybe two inches taller?”

 

Sans stared at you for another moment, then he _really_ burst into laugher, gripping your shoulder for support. You could see him open his mouth properly now, and... Oh jeez.

 

All his teeth came to a point, every single one. And he had a tongue, a _tongue. It was blue._ You didn’t know what you stared at longer, but you were suddenly very intimidated by those sharp teeth. When he’d cooled off a bit you thought he’d noticed you staring, but he didn’t get a word in before Papyrus came bounding back in.

“WOWIE! THE BATHROOMS ARE ALL EN-SUITE! AND THE BEDROOMS ARE SO NICE. YOU CAN SEE MT. EBOTT FROM HERE!!”

“cool bro. so what do you think? like it enough to wanna stay here?”

“OF COURSE! IF IT IS ALRIGHT WITH THE HUMAN OF COURSE.”

 

They both looked at you, and you nodded with a little smile.  
“I don’t think I can say no to that face. But uh, if you’re moving in then I’ve got rules? Roommates and I lived by it before, they’re not big. Want to sit?”  
A minute later you and your prospective roommates had settled into the seats in front of the tv. You turned to face them, putting on a game face.

“Okay so, you take care of your own bedroom and bathroom, but you _have_ to help clean up the common area. Dishes and vacuuming and taking out the trash get split up between us, and we rotate weekly. That okay with you guys?”  
They nodded, you continued. “Good, alright. Um, ask permission before you take certain foods. Some cereals and some of the frozen stuff in the freezer are for me, but I don’t mind sharing as long as you ask first. You can invite people over but you have to let me know first and visa-versa Uh-” You look over to the tank, where Pancake has decided to lounge up on the hammock.  
“I take care of Pancake, so don’t worry about feeding him or cleaning up. I’d prefer if you didn’t take him out before asking me.”

They stared at the little lizard, and you could swear Papyrus’ eyes were sparkling. Sans was the one to speak up though.

“heh, Pancake? he’s cute. what kinda lizard?”

“Bearded dragon!” you respond, “Found him on the sidewalk back home and nobody claimed him when we asked around so he’s mine now.”

“HE’S SO COOL. YOU SHOULD MEET ALPHYS. SHE IS ALSO A REPTILE. DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER PETS?”

You nodded, “Yeah a cat.”

 

Mrooww.

 

Ah, right on cue.

 

Out waddled Lucy, likely to get food but obviously interested in the new people. The cat came over towards the two skeletons and now you could definitely see the sparkles in Papyrus’ eyes. Those were real sparkles, holy shit. He looked apprehensive for a moment, so you made the move to pick up the fat creature.

“No allergies right? She sheds.”

They shook their heads, but you could see their attention was trained on the cat. You sat her down in Sans’ lap.  
“Go on, she lives for attention.”  
He hesitantly started to stroke her back, and she immediately started purring. Sans smiled, Papyrus stared at the cat like he was in love at first sight, and you were suddenly much more relaxed about the situation.  
“she’s got some soft fur.”

You laughed, “That’s because I gave her a bath with cat shampoo last week! Her dandruff was out of control. God, she hated that, but I gave her treats and I think she’s forgiven me. Have you forgiven me Lucy?”  
Lucy purred louder, then hopped off of Sans’ lap to go towards the food bowl.

“Aaaand there she goes. Off to the food like a fatty.” She meowed and you snorted.  
“You know it’s true, brat!”

She disappeared around the counter and you looked back to the brothers.  
“So? Think you two will be okay living with an old cat, a lizard, and a human?”

“I WOULD ENJOY LIVING HERE VERY MUCH, IF YOU’RE OKAY WITH IT, HUMAN.”

They looked at you, and for a second you thought you saw a sad look on Sans’ face, as if he was expecting you to still turn them down. You smiled at them brightly.  
“Go on downstairs and get that paperwork done, boys, Robert should be able to have you move in by tomorrow if you want! If it makes you guys feel better about it, just think of me as a skeleton with some extra shit thrown on top, that’s basically what I am anyways.”

Papyrus’ sparkles returned, and he swooped up to collect you into an almost crushing hug. Not enough to crack your back, but enough to knock the wind out of you.  
“THANK YOU HUMAN! I AM SURE WE WILL BE GREAT FRIENDS, I WILL MAKE YOU SPAGHETTI FOR DINNER TOMORROW TO CELEBRATE.”  
You wheezed, and he set you down almost apologetically. Sans winked at you.

“he really likes spaghetti.”

You smiled, “Dude pasta is the best, especially spaghetti.”

His eyes sparkled for the third time within ten minutes, and he looked ready to hug you again. You weren’t sure if you could withstand that. Sans stood up slowly and nudged Papyrus’ side.

“go on Paps, I’ll see you downstairs.”

Papyrus was out the door before you even had time to blink. Suddenly, it was just you and Sans. You wondered what to say.

 

“you really don’t have to be so nice for us you know.”

You looked to him, the little white lights in his sockets looked dim, and his smile looked fake. You shook your head.  
“I’ve been looking for roommates since the last ones left. I know I didn’t have to, I wanted to. You guys are really cool people. Hell, all the monsters I’ve met are. Like this one chick who started working at the school gym, she’s super cool, I’ve got her number now and everything and that’s after one meeting!”

“who’s the friend?”

“Uh,” you check your phone, you’re pretty bad with remembering names sometimes, “let’s see uh, Oh! Undyne, it’s Undyne.” You laugh. “Holy shit she scared the hell out of me last week! So I was at the gym trying to do weights when I see her showing a freshman how to do a deadlift. She must have caught me staring because she stormed over and started getting in my face about it. She thought it was because she’s a damn fish monster, but honestly? I was staring at her biceps.”

He snorted.

“did you tell her that?”

“I did! She stared at me then laughed and punched my arm and called me a punk. We talked for a while and she forced me to bench press about ten pounds more than I can manage then we exchanged numbers.”

“yeah that’s Undyne for ya, she’s loud and brash but she sure does love to show off her guns.”

You giggle, “Should’ve known you’d know her. I mean she’s certainly hard to miss.”

You handed your phone to Sans. “Alright put in your number and I’ll text you so you and Paps can add me. Just in case of a lockout or something.”

He punched it in and handed the phone back. His name was all lowercase, as if he’d just not bothered to press the caps button. You smiled at him and you both walked towards the door.

“I’ve got a feeling living with you two is going to be a lot of fun! I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

“sure,” He winked at you, grinning wide enough that you could see the points of his teeth. “be seeing you.”

 

He gave you a little wave before stuffing his hands back in his pockets and leaving out the door, leaving you once again alone with only your pets for company. You picked up your cat when she started to circle around your feet and headed back towards your room, flopping down on your bed. You opened your phone and decided you needed to text Undyne.

 

 **8:43 AM - You - Yo Undyne, you know how I told you I’ve been looking for new roommates?**  
  
**8:43 AM - Undyne - Yeah? What about it**  
  
**8:44 AM - You - I got some finally! And guess what? You know them!**  
  
**8:44 AM - Undyne - Let me guess. Nothing but bones, one’s a little taller than me and the other’s nothing but puns?**  
  
**8:44 AM - You - I’m guessing they’d told you they were on an apartment hunt.**

  
You could see the typing icon of Undyne responding, but it lasted for a little bit, with occasional pauses when you figured she was thinking of how to word something.

 **8:45 AM - Undyne - Yeah. The shitheads who owned the place they were staying at before kicked them out, said monsters were hurting their business and they needed to go before they went bankrupt. Assholes. Anyways they’ve been bunking with me and the gf for the last week, glad they have a place!**  
  
**8:45 AM - Undyne - HOLY SHIT THOUGH THEY’RE STAYING WITH YOU THAT’S AMAZING. Small world huh?**  
  
**8:46 AM - You - Yeah, small world lmao. They seem super nice, I think it’ll be fun having them around.**  
  
**8:46 AM - Undyne - As long as you can stand Sans’ puns you’ll get along just fine, punk**  
  
**8:46 AM - Undyne - but uh**  
  
**8:46 AM - Undyne - by the way  
  
** **8:46 AM - Undyne - if you end up being jerks to them I’ll totally mess up your face, got it?**

  
Aaaaand there’s a threat you were expecting. Monsters really looked out for each other, some much more aggressively than others... Not that you blamed them in the slightest. Humans really were jerks.

 **  
8:47 AM - You - Don’t worry dude, I’ve got a feeling we’re gonna get along just fine  
  
**...  
  
**8:50 AM - You - Hey um, are sharp teeth and tongues a normal thing for skeleton monsters?**  
  
**8:50 AM - Undyne - LMAO HOLY SHIT**  
**  
8:50 AM - Undyne - IDK DUDE THEY’RE THE ONLY SKELETONS I KNOW BUT**  
**  
8:50 AM - Undyne - HOLY FUCK LOL**  
**  
8:50 AM - You - Undyne...**  
**  
8:51 AM - Undyne - LMAO you’re gonna get along really well with them. REALLY well.**  
  
**8:51 AM - You - UNDYNE!!!**  
  
**8:52 AM - Undyne - Go back to sleep punk, I know you’re only up because Papyrus is a morning person, and I know for a fact that you are not.**  
  
**8:52 AM - Undyne - holy shit I’m SO telling Alphys about this**  
  
**8:53 AM - You - oh my god**

 

She stopped texting you after that, you figured she was done teasing you. Your face was red hot now, she _had_ to go and turn it into that sort of thing now didn’t she? You just found it weird (and a little cool)! You didn’t think about Sans like that at all! You didn’t think about _anybody_ like that, you never had! Hell, you’d only just met him. You were still mad that he was _taller than you_. You were gonna get Rob back for that one of these days. He knew and he didn’t tell you because he was six feet tall and loved to make fun of you. You argued that five foot four was average but he still called you shorty from time to time. You want to fight him like the little ball of rage you totally are.

You sighed and settled down. Going back to sleep was really speaking to you, and you knew you’d just be grouchy later on if you didn’t try. Lucy hopped up as you got yourself under the sheets and curled up, meowing in your face before flopping down within arm’s reach.

 

You were going to be roommates with a couple of skeletons.

 

Talk about the perfect pitch for a comedy sitcom.

 

~———————~

 

It was one in the morning before you’d felt like trying to sleep. After the morning nap, you’d gotten some food and finished your paper, setting it aside to print and turn in later. The rest of the day was nothing but youtube and video games, the a break around dinner to feed yourself and Pancake. God, you would have forgotten to eat if you hadn’t remembered that that lazy lizard needed his crickets.

 

Now, you were just lying in bed hoping to sleep, sheets up to your chin as you flopped from side to side. Your cat meowed at you and you looked over to her as she stared off, as if at nothing.  
“See something, brat?”

She meowed again and you swore you heard a chuckle. You flipped over and stared right into two white pinpricks of light. You blinked, and the rest of a skull came into view a little more properly. You froze, realizing Sans was in your room... Your room with a door still closed, and a apartment door still locked.

“sorry to intrude. Undyne said you were a night owl so I figured I’d come by before you went to sleep.” you opened your mouth to speak, but he raised a hand to stop you. “lemme finish kid. look, you’re being really nice letting us stay with us and everything, i really appreciate it. i just wanted to let you know one thing first. if you hurt my brother at all...”

The lights in his sockets disappeared, and his grin grew menacing, every sharp point of his teeth accentuated.

 

“ **Y o u r ‘ e  g o n n a  h a v e  a  b a d  t i m e** ”

 

You went pale, shrinking into your bed a bit. His smile and eyes returned to normal and his hands went back into his pockets. “we clear, kid?”

You nodded quickly, “Dude I won’t hurt him, I don’t think I could, he must be made of pure sugar he’s so sweet. So uh, threat noted, can you get out of my room? I’m starting to feel a bit more threatened that one of my new roommates knows how to get in and out of my room without a key, especially since I don't wear shirts to bed.”

He blinked, and his smile faltered as he gave you a shocked look.

  
“wait you’re-” you nod, and his cheekbones turn blue, “haha, shit sorry. uh, bad time for that spiel huh? note to self not to come in here at night.”

There was a look shared between you two and he chuckled nervously.  
“k, so uh. yeah bye.”

You blinked, and he was gone. He just vanished into thin air. Did he teleport?! You’re frozen for another minute or two, but you flop over once you feel like you’re not being watched and grab the cat to calm yourself down.

 

  
You’re _really_ starting to wonder what you've gotten yourself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god two comments and 19 kudos on the first chapter alone? YOU GUYS ARE SO AMAZING, thank you so much ;u;


	3. You Are Angry And Ready to Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicki Minaj scares the shit out of you, the skeletons move in, and you punch somebody

Undyne must have given Papyrus a call, because he was kind enough not to text you until eleven in the morning on move in day.

 

He’d let you know it was him and then informed you that they’d arrive in an hour, he just needed to get his lazybones of a brother out the door first. You let him know that you’d leave the front door cracked open with the deadbolt. God, he even texted in all caps! With lots of exclamation points to boot. How could anybody hurt this guy? You were starting to understand a little bit of Sans’ caution, though the depth of that understanding was truly beyond you.

Speaking of Sans, aside from that one back and forth text to get numbers, there had been no communication aside from his midnight threat, and you were starting to worry if you’d made that poor of an impression. Were you too overbearing? Too sappy? Maybe he was mad that you were initially scared of him and his brother? God, what if--

You shook your head and got out of bed, heading towards the drawers. Not today, brain, not today!

  
After a bowl of cereal and a quick shower, Papyrus sent you another text that they were almost to the complex. You got your hair dried and looked at yourself in the foggy mirror.

Hm, maybe you’d go with an royal blue next time you went to the salon. The green was starting to fade, and you were being painfully reminded that pukey-yellow was _not_ your color. You got dressed quickly and went out towards the kitchen, determined to at least get some of the dishes done before the boys arrived. God, you were so energetic today! It was a nice change of pace, you had butterflies in your stomach and little static shocks of excitement. Coffee just couldn’t beat this, you hadn’t even touched the Keurig machine this morning. You looked at it with a fondness for a moment while rinsing off some dishes in the sink, scrubbing away at grit while hot water ran over your hands.

 

Two knocks at your door and the shuffling of boxes were your only warning before Papyrus and Sans entered.

“hey kid.”

“HELLO, BRIGHT HAIRED HUMAN!”

“Hello boys,” you said sunnily, looking up from the dishes for a moment. “Good to see you! Go ahead and put those in your rooms, I’ll just finish up here and help okay?”

Papyrus had two massive boxes on his shoulders, walking back towards the bedrooms as if they were weightless. He nudged the top of your head with his elbow as he walked by.

“IT IS QUITE ALRIGHT, HUMAN, I WOULD RATHER YOU CONVINCE MY LAZYBONES BROTHER TO HELP INSTEAD.”

Sans stood next to you and shrugged with a grin, a backpack slung over one shoulder.

“i packed my stuff, I just don’t feel like lifting those boxes, bro’s much better at it than i am.”

He winked at you, and you shrugged, still unsure of how to handle him. You looked down at the dishes with brows furrowed.

“Sure you guys don’t need any help?”

“nah, we’re good. we should just keep out of the way until he gets everything in.”

 

Well, if he was going to act like nothing was wrong, you’d play along for the moment at the very least. You finished up what you could and loaded the dishwasher, drying your hands on a towel and motioning towards the couch. Papyrus rushed out to get more boxes while you and Sans sat down in front of the tv. You weren’t feeling like you needed to add noise to the chaos quite yet, so the two of you sat in silence. Papyrus was in and out a few more times, smile growing each and every time until he just couldn’t contain himself anymore.

“I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING MY OWN ROOM AGAIN, IT WILL BE LIKE BACK IN SNOWDIN! IT WAS TEDIOUS TO DEAL WITH SANS’ PUNS THROUGH THE NIGHT.”

You raised an eyebrow at Sans, and he just shrugged.

“well i like to think that my puns are _sansational_.”

“SANS!!!!” his brother shrieked, and despite your best efforts to be stern, you couldn’t help but snort a little at that.

Lucy came out with a series of loud meows and sounds that sounded more like yelling than anything, jumping up into your lap to demand you pet her. You rolled her eyes and scratched between her shoulder blades. Papyrus came in with more boxes, setting these down in the kitchen.

“CAN YOU IMAGINE HAVING TO SHARE A ROOM WITH HIM, BRIGHT HAIRED HUMAN? THE PUNS WILL DRIVE YOU CRAZY.”

You shrugged with a cheeky little grin. “Dunno, puns are pretty fantastic when done right. But yeah having your own room probably sounds like it’d be great. Nobody rudely barging in on your in the middle of the night when you’re trying to sleep”

You side eyed Sans, and his eye sockets narrowed at you.

Papyrus didn’t seem to pick up on it, and merely let out a ‘nyeh’ of agreement.

“EXACTLY, HUMAN!” He looked towards the door then back to the two (well, three) of you on the couch, then gave you an enthusiastic grin.

“I WILL RETURN WITH THE LAST OF THE BOXES, THEN WE CAN UNPACK!”

 

When Papyrus was finally out of earshot, Sans leaned over and got close to you with a grin.

“at least i’m not the one texting mutual friends about why skeletons have tongues and sharp teeth.”

Your face got hot and your shoulders stiffened up. “She didn’t”

“oh yes she did” he chuckled, “and hey who wouldn’t be wondering? skeletons are supposed to be corpses right?”

You put your face in your hands in shame, and he chuckled again a bit louder.

“Okay okay I get it. Monsters that look like skeletons, not reanimated dead.”

“it’s okay kid, I’m just _ribbing_ ya.”

You groaned, “that wasn’t very _humerus_.”

He laughed. “alright, that was good. you know what? i’ll let you ask me some monster questions for that... and uh, also as an apology for last night.”

You eyed him, but sighed in relief, realizing he was seriously letting you off easy. The pun stream could have kept going until you tore your hair out.

“Really?”

He nodded at you, “yeah sure, go ahead.”

You looked up at him and saw that his trademark grin was a little more genuine at the moment. Well, your face wasn’t too hot anymore, maybe he wasn’t pissed at you after all. You sucked in a breath, moving the cat from your lap.

“Well, for starters--”

 

_‘PULL UP IN THE MONSTER, AUTOMOBILE GANGSTER_

_WITH A BAD BITCH THAT CAME FROM SRI LANKA’_

 

You froze, eyes growing wide as the phone on the coffee table buzzed away. You and Sans stared at each other in shock while the verse carried on, and your face once again got really, really hot.

 

_‘YEAH I’M IN THAT TONKA, COLOUR OF WILLY WONKA_

_YOU COULD BE THE KING BUT WATCH THE QUEEN CONQUER’_

 

You scrambled to pick up the call as Sans burst into laughter.

 

“H-hello?” You turned to Sans with a sour look when he couldn’t help but let out another snort. Oh he’d done his best to keep quiet when you picked up the phone, but you knew he was finding the situation way more funny than you were.

“Robert, is now a good time? I’m getting seriously roasted for my taste in music right n-”

You listened intently, and even Sans seemed to quiet down as your face fell.

“We’ll be right down.”

 

You looked back at your new roommate, who suddenly looked as concerned as you. “so he _wasn’t_ trying to make the timing perfect?”

You shook your head. “So uh, that guy that turned you down? He’s downstairs and causing a scene.”

He cursed under his breath, and you headed for the door. He moved and quickly grabbed your arm. “i’d rather we got down there quickly, hold on tight kid.”

You didn’t have time to ask what he meant before he’d wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you in close so you were practically smothered in the lining of his hood. You didn’t have time to protest why he did that before you were suddenly sucked into a void of nothingness, and your stomach lurched like you were falling.

God, you hated that feeling so much, you didn’t realize that you were hanging on for dear life until your feet hit solid ground again. You blinked and looked around while regaining your senses, legs shaky as if you’d just gotten off a roller coaster.

 

It was the entrance hall to the complex, right in front of the doors to the parking lot, and you finally let out a breath you didn’t even realize you were holding.

You were still frozen, and he shook you a little to snap you out of it. “you uh, you can let go now.”

“Holy shit.”

“sorry,” he chuckled weakly, “probably shoulda warned you.”

You shook your head and got out from under his arm, moving towards the door quickly, legs still visibly shaky.

“Man, I hate that feeling you get at the drop of a big ride. That whole thing you just did? That was like the drop, but endless.”

He chuckled at you and shrugged. “sorry.”

 

You opened the door and suddenly the sound of somebody shouting echoed through the hall. You and Sans shared a look, and ran towards the noise.

 

A middle aged man stood between you and Papyrus, pointing a finger at the skeleton like he’d just been tripped in the hall.

“I TOLD YOU THAT YOU COULDN’T LIVE HERE YOU STUPID MONSTER!”

“I DO NOT UNDERSTAND, WE ARE NOT LIVING WITH YOU? WE ARE LIVING WITH MISS ADELAIDE.”

“I don’t care,” the man hissed, scratching at some unshaven stubble on his chin. “I told you disgusting creatures to get the hell out, I don’t wanna see your kind around here!”

You could see Papyrus getting more and more nervous by the second, and you stopped Sans from storming forward when you saw a menacing glint in his eyes.

“The apartment is monster friendly, human, if you do not like it, perhaps you should speak with the people in charge?”

Oh, so Papyrus _did_ have a quieter voice? You were realizing very quickly that wasn’t so great, and your hand tingled as more magic seethed out of the skeleton next to you. The man pointed at your friend again, more menacing this time.

“Maybe you should clear yourself out of here and go back underground where you belong, you abomination!”

 

Oh that did it. You let go of Sans and now you were the one charging forward.

 

“HEY ASSHOLE.”

He wheeled around, and as you got closer you realized he was close to a foot taller than you. Somehow you just weren’t in the mood to back down.

“What, you defending the freaks?”

You got as close as you deemed comfortable and glared, hands balled into fists.

“I’m here defending my roommates, thank you very much, is there a fucking problem with that?”

 

A few incoming residents were peering from their cars or other parts of the lot, curious and concerned all at once. You realized you recognized that this was that guy who lived down in apartment 205. Ill tempered and conservative in all the worst ways, Robert was always chatting with you about something he overheard the guy say on the elevator or when they passed in the halls. The only reason he was here was because he’d been kicked out of his old home for, you assumed, being a complete dickhead. He snorted at you and sized you up, and for a moment you felt really small again.

 

“Of course I have a problem, lady. These fucking _things_ are taking our jobs and homes out from under us! It’s disgusting, it’s _wrong_ , and you’re going to hell for even associating with them.”

A cruel sneer crossed your face as you took on a much less intimidating pose. Don’t fight, don’t fight, just shut him up. You raised his brows at him and gave him a sickly sweet smile.

“Oh I see, you’re just mad because these lovely boys are moving in with a nice single girl. I’m surprised you’re not more concerned about that! Or maybe you are. Maybe you’re jealous because you can’t get your hands near me when I’ve got two cute boys aaaaalll to myself.”

 

He snarled and raised his hand, and you realized he meant to slap you. Something in you snapped into focus and the next thing you knew, your fist was making contact with his stomach. He wheezed and keeled over as you breathed heavily, realizing how much effort your instinct had put into that blow.

“Were you going to SLAP ME?”

“You... you fucking _bitch.”_

“MOTHERFUCKER YOU TRIED TO **SLAP ME**! DO THAT SHIT AGAIN AND I’LL MESS UP YOUR FACE SO BAD YOUR OWN MOTHER WON’T RECOGNIZE YOU.”

 

He stood and looked ready to retaliate, and you started to charge back at him. Oh you were ready to fight, god DAMN you were sick of shit like this. A gloved hand pressed against the top of your sternum and your vision got just a little less red as Papyrus came into view. He’d come between you and mister two-oh-five to break up the inevitable fight.

“Please, do not escalate this further. I would rather not see either of you injured.”

All the fire in your eyes died out in an instant at Papyrus’ pleading look, his tone was soft and that alone was enough to cool you off. Your fists unclenched and after a moment, you looked down in shame.

“Sorry...”

The other guy wasn’t so keen on backing down without the last word, though, because even as he stepped back from you and the skeleton with arms folded.

“ _Fine_ , keep the freaks. But if I see them again I’ll-”

“You’ll what?” you interrupted, a bif of the fire returning. “You can’t win this dude, I have friends in management who’ve been looking for excuses to boot you out of the complex. I’m sure telling them that you tried to hit me when people were watching would be all they need to do it, too!”

You gestured around to the other onlookers, as few as they were, and you could see some of his venom die.

“Let me put it this way,” you said with another sickeningly sweet smile, “You touch my friends, and management will be coming up to room 205 to give you the fucking boot. Understood?”

 

His eyes narrowed at you, and he stormed off towards the doors. You threw your middle finger up at him as he left, muttering “get fucked buddy” under your breath as he disappeared. You noticed Sans at last, and for a moment you could have sworn you saw a swirl of deadly magic in his left socket, but you blinked and it was gone.

 

“Are you alright, human?”

 

You shook your head and looked up at Papyrus, all his concern seemed to be on you, as if he wasn’t the one being called “freak” and “abomination” a few moments ago. You shook your head and came back to yourself a little more, smile getting a little more genuine for him.

“I’m fine Paps, let’s get those last boxes up before he comes back and forces me to do more stupid stuff, okay?”

He squinted at you, scrutinizing your face before grinning and clapping your shoulder.

“OF COURSE, HUMAN. AND THEN WE CAN START UNPACKING! WE SHOULD NOT LET A SINGLE HUMAN DISCOURAGE US SO EASILY.”

You helped him by grabbing a box labeled “books” out of the back of his red convertible (dont be jealous of the skeleton’s sweet ride, don’t be jealous of the skeletons sweet ride). It was a bit heavy, but nothing you couldn’t handle. On the side you saw the name sans written out sloppily, but somehow you were still on edge, so you weren’t ready to ask about it.

 

The elevator ride up to the sixth floor was silent and almost awkward, though Papyrus and Sans chatted for a bit while people got on and off the elevator. Finally, you shoved the door open and took the box down the hall, setting it down between the bedroom doors. You hadn’t actually asked who’d taken which. You walked back towards the kitchen and stumbled a bit, getting the attention of both brothers.

“HUMAN ARE YOU OKAY?”

You gripped the counter and looked down at the floor with shock.

“Holy shit, I’ve never actually hit anybody before. Oh my god I could’ve gotten hurt!”

Before you had time to really collapse from shock, Papyrus was at your side picking you up into another hug.

“IT WAS VERY BRAVE OF YOU TO STAND UP TO HIM LIKE THAT I’M SURE UNDYNE WOULD HAVE APPRECIATED YOUR FIGHTING SPIRIT!.”

He patted your head and all of the shaking seemed to stop... Probably because you were literally being rendered immobile. When he was satisfied that you were calmed down, he sat you down at moved on past you.

“WORRY NOT, BRIGHT HAIRED HUMAN. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE SURE YOU AREN’T HARMED BY THAT OTHER LESS NICE HUMAN IF YOU DECIDE TO THROW PUNCHES AT HIM AGAIN! THOUGH I WOULD RATHER THERE BE NO MORE FIGHTING AT ALL.”

He disappeared into his room for a moment, but peeked out real quick before you could walk off.

“COULD YOU GET SANS TO UNPACK OUR KITCHEN AND LIVING ROOM THINGS? HE’S SUCH A LAZYBONES.”

You nodded and gave him a thumbs up, “No problem dude, I’ll kick his butt into gear.”

 

  
With that he was gone, and it was just you, Sans, and a couple of boxes. You exchanged looks and you couldn’t help but smile a bit. No more delays, it was time to get some questions answered.


	4. Your Lizard Makes a Fantastic First Impression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Come on and join the Adelaide Parade!
> 
> Perks include: Strangely personal questions about anatomy, some sappy stuff, and pet shenanigans.

“So how are you even holding together?”

Sans looked up from the box he was opening, realizing that the question had been directed at him. You already had your box open, and were pulling out some of Papyrus’ favorite spaghetti making utensils. You looked at him expectantly, and somehow his first instinct was to crack another joke.

“heh, barely.”

You blinked at him and he laughed awkwardly. Whoops, a bit too dark there huh? You merely shrugged and put the utensils in your hand into an organizer on the counter.

“I feel you, dude, but I mean like, how you’re physically not a pile on the floor.” You rearranged the spatulas and such already in the crock and looked back to Sans, who was suddenly looking a bit more curious. “I mean like, the only reason my bones aren’t sloshing around in my skin is because I have tendons keeping everything connected, so like, basically I’m just asking how you’re walking around without tendons. Are they invisible? Does the magic make it all unnecessary, if so wouldn’t that drain the hell outta you?” You get a slightly horrified expression on your face as you start grabbing more things out of the kitchen box.

“Wait if that’s the case then do you turn into a pile of bones when you’re asleep?”

He snorted. “ok that’s just wrong.” He threw a throw blanket onto the couch, old and patched up as it was. He rummaged and pulled out some books, placing them onto the coffee table to deal with later. “but uh, I guess... invisible is the best way of explaining it?”  
There wasn’t much left in the box, the blanket took up most of it, and the books along with some little knick knacks were really the only other things in there.  
“like, uh. how do I explain this? so monsters are made of magic, right? but obviously the magic has to manifest something physical for us to function, so uh, the bones? all physical. but stuff like the “tendons”? they’re there i guess, but not physically, though i could manifest them if you really wanted me to, it’d be a bit of a strain though.”

 

He eyed you, you were still sorting through the kitchen boxes, though you had a satisfied look on your face at his answer. He was done with his unpacking and sat down on the couch. Couldn’t really be bothered to get up and help, he almost felt like a nap...

“That’s... pretty cool... is it the same thing for your gut?”

Ah, she’d noticed that too, must have been a bit more obvious when she’d held onto him during that teleport earlier. He looked down at his stomach and realized that yeah, must be weird to be a skeleton and also be a little fat. Skeletons don’t have fat, just bones and invisible tendons, apparently. He chuckled.

“yup, and trust me it’ll look _way_ weirder if I manifest that, ‘cuz it’d be blue n’ stuff.” he poked at it jokingly when you were looking, “i don’t think there was this much when i was younger, but i’ve always been big boned so-”

You snorted, and his eyes lit up a bit. God, that snort was _adorable_.

“Big boned,” you wheezed, “dude, no human on earth has arm bones as thick as yours, if you wore long sleeves and gloves nobody would tell the difference. For a guy who likes puns you sure are being literal.”

He laughed, “alright alright kid, stop grilling me will ya? it’s my turn now.”

He really needed to turn the tables before he got embarrassed. He looked at you with a sly smile when he knew you were looking, and raised a brow.

 

“so, you enjoying that you’ll be living with a couple of _cute boys?”_

Your face flushed hot red, and Sans’ grin only grew.

“what was that about having us aaaallll to yourself?” 

You shot him a look at moved to unpack more kitchen things with an obvious desire to avoid eye contact. “I was just trying to rile him up, it worked didn’t it?”  
You looked up suddenly as you sat the last item up on the counter, something you didn’t recognize, but likely for pasta, based on the rest of the box’s contents. You were still blushing hard, and oh _man_ Sans wasn’t gonna let you off the hook for a long time now.  
“Like, I mean-- yeah you two are cute, like your bro is really nice and you’ve got this thing going with your jaw that’s pretty endearing but like-”

 

“man, you sound really eager to jump my bones all the sudden.”

 

You looked up in shock, defending yourself once more, “No! God, no no no you got the wrong idea buddy.”  
He must have looked a little disappointed or something, because you spoke up and continued almost immediately.  
“It’s not because you’re a monster, I promise! I just don’t... think of people... like that?”

He raised a brow at you, and you blanched a bit. You moved towards the seat near the couch and sat back.

“Er, yeah, weird I know I just, it’s never occurred to me to jump _anybody_ like that, you know? Like, nah it’s fine, I don’t know you, please keep it in your pants. I can like, look at somebody and think ‘oh damn they’re super fucking attractive’, but like, I don’t know dude. I don’t know them, I don’t even want to _think_ about stuff like that in a serious way when I don’t even know them.”

You were ready to keep going, but Sans raised his hand to stop you, he understood what you meant.

“addy you’re rambling again. it’s cool, you’re not the first person i’ve met decided that the swing wasn't their style.”

You sighed in relief and visibly relaxed. Sans scratched his face absently, still grinning. You thought his jaw was attractive, did you? That’s a new one. He eyed you and grinned.

“‘s okay kid, it’s cute when you ramble.”

And there was the blush again, you looked at him in protest. “Dude I just met you like, yesterday.”

He gave you the most innocent puppydog expression he could manage. “what? can’t a guy get a little flirty with his friends? i thought that was a thing friends did.”

 

Ah he could see you blush, but you doubted he could see how your expression softened at the mention of friends. Monsters made friends fast if they could help it, their souls were all love at their best, and even a heavier soul like Sans’ was constantly kind until provoked. You smiled at him, blush fading.

“Well at least I know now your first impression of me wasn’t as bad as I thought.” You waggled your eyebrows at him, “flirt away bone boy, just don’t expect much to come out of it.”

“duly noted, kid.”

“And stop calling me kid!” You laughed. “I’m old enough to go bar hopping at three in the morning.”

Ah, you’re about Paps’ age then, maybe a year or two younger. He chuckled at the thought then relaxed.

“sorry, force of habit, the only other human friend I have is literally a kid so you know.” He looked at you and shrugged, “i’ll try to shake it, cross my heart.”

“Sans you don’t have a heart.”

He feigned a gasp, and pressed a hand to his chest. “i’m offended! you think because i’m a skeleton that i-” he snorted and started to laugh. “nah, you’re right. no heart, no lungs, and no tendons, just magic.”

 

Oh yeah, you weren't getting away with the tendon thing for a long time, and you huffed when you realized it.

“Alright wise guy. Should we go help your brother to get you to stop being a tease?”

He shook his head. “paps is particular about his stuff. best to sit back and wait for him to be done.”

“what about your own stuff?”

He shrugged, “eh, i’ll do it later.”

He was enjoying himself too much out here. Man it was nice to have somebody around to talk to, especially somebody as curious as you.

You stood up and went to the tv, fishing through some DVDs.

“In that case, how ‘bout we watch something to make a joke about my name? There's this mini series I have that my old roommate bought back when I was still in the dorms. Thought it'd be funny, but it's pretty good.”

Sans shrugged, “hey anything for extra joke material.”

You eyed him as you slipped the disc into the DVD player, moving back to sit by him as you fiddled with remotes.

 

The tv came to life and you were relaxed for a bit. Sans couldn't help but enjoy the show, even if half the time it wasn't the show he was paying attention to, but you.

 

~———————~

 

Sometime between the end of the mini series and the middle of an episode of Cutthroat Kitchen you’d saved on the DVR, Sans had fallen asleep. You’d kept him awake out of excitement to see if he could figure out the previous show’s mysteries, but he’d figured it out halfway through and was much more eager on poking fun at you.

‘so if i piss you off will you turn _me_ into a bluebird?’

‘You’d make a pretty weird bluebird, buddy.’

You’d hardly noticed it until you’d tried moving to stand, but he’d started to lean against you in his sleep. You paused for a moment, looking over him. Man, he was definitely not what you’d call a regular skeleton. The jaw filled out as if it were flesh, he could close his eye sockets and even his hand bones were thick. You hovered your hand over his and compared out of curiosity. The bones were all correct, but... they weren’t, they seemed connected in ways they shouldn’t be, and his hand just about dwarfed yours. Maybe there was a little bit of blush when you thought it, but yeah, he really _was_ kind of cute.

 

Papyrus picked that moment to bound back in the room, ready to announce that he was finished unpacking his things. You shook all your thoughts and looked up to him, pressing a finger to your lips. You nodded your head to the slumbering skeleton, and Papyrus nodded. He’d been here before many times after all. You finally moved to stand, and suddenly you felt a little chilly. You looked down at Sans where he napped with a curious expression. Did he really give off heat? You could have sworn it was just the magic when you were teleporting... And how didn’t you notice it this whole time? You shrugged and walked towards the kitchen counter.

“Got everything unpacked?”

“Of course, human! I even broke down the boxes. I see you and Sans took care of things out here.” he gave you a silly look and raised his eyebrows at you, “and I see you’re enjoying hanging out with my brother a lot.”

You shook your head and smiled, “not like that buddy, sorry to burst any bubbles. I was showing him a miniseries while we waited for you to finish up.”

You looked to the lizard tank, and you sobered up a bit looking at the inside of it.

“Ugh, I better clean his mat up before I feed him again. Think you can hold the little guy while I do that?”

“I would love to hold the pancake lizard, human! But I am about to start on my world famous spaghetti, and I would rather he not fall into the sauce by accident.”

His voice got a little louder as he mentioned dinner, you could tell he was trying hard to be considerate about his brother. A mischievous grin suddenly grew on his face.

“Perhaps my lazybones brother would like to hold the pancake lizard until you are finished?”

Your brows furrowed, “Sans can’t hold Pancake he’s--” Oh, haha. You grinned back. “That sounds perfect. Good idea Paps.”

“Nyehehehe, I am full of many good ideas!”

You were already at the tank and moving the heat lamps aside, fishing the reptile out. He gave you no protest aside from some wild waving as you adjusted how you held him. He looked between you and Papyrus with what could only be seen as suspicion, if not betrayal at being removed from his comfy hammock.

“Come on fatty, let’s introduce you to a new friend.”

 

You took Pancake over and as carefully as you could, deposited him right onto Sans’ stomach. Sans continued to lightly snore, even as the lizard crawled up a little further, clinging to the skeleton’s shirt with his tiny claws. You looked at Papyrus who’d been watching the whole time, and he covered his mouth and giggled. You whipped out your phone as the lizard eyed you and snapped a photo. You moved back to the tank to remove his dishes and mat, holding them in a bundle before looking back to make sure Pancake hadn’t decided to have a wild moment and go scrabbling all over the place. He was still in place, and Sans was still asleep.

“Aw, he likes him.”

“I see now why you call him ‘Pancake’! He is very flat when he isn’t moving.”

You grinned, “Yeah, that’s what beardies do when they’re trying to absorb heat. Cool, right.”

“NYEH! IT IS VERY COOL, THOUGH NOT AS COOL AS ME!”

You stifled laughter as you walked back towards your room. “You’re definitely a cool dude, Papyrus. Here I’ll wash these in my bathroom, don’t need this mess in the same place as the cooking you know?”

You started to left towards the room when you felt a hand on your shoulder. You turned and Papyrus was there.

“What is it Papyrus?”

 

He looked hesitant at first, but spoke after a moment.

“I do know my brother will not say it, but we really do appreciate that you decided to let us live here. He seemed very happy this morning to move. He even went to our old home underground to get some of his books!”

His voice was not just quiet now, it was soft, and you realized how sincere he was being.

“Monsters make friends very quickly, and I already consider you a really great friend, even if we have just met! You did not have to stick your neck out for us, human, I appreciate it, and I know my brother does too.”

You smiled softly. “Hey, dude it’s alright, you two are super cool. I wish more people would try to make friends as easily as you guys. I hardly see any of my human friends anymore, they’re always busy with their work.”

“Nyehehehe! Well worry not, human! For I, the Great Papyrus, will gladly make time to hang out! And I will introduce you to all of my very cool friends!”

Somehow, that made you feel better than you had in a long while now. Ever since your last roommates were forced to leave... Well, it’d be nice for the apartment to have a bit of noise and life to it again.

“I’d love that, Papyrus!”

You shifted the stuff in your hands and gave him an apologetic look.

“Now uh, I better get these cleaned before Pancake decides to jump onto Sans’ head or something. I look forward to that spaghetti! All the supplies for it should be in the pantry. Veggies and beef are in the fridge and freezer for the sauce if you need it!”

His eyes glittered, (yup, real glitter!), and he zoomed back to the kitchen.

“I WILL START RIGHT AWAY, HUMAN! THANK YOU!”

 

You laughed and disappeared into your room, closing the door behind you.

 

Cleaning the lizard’s dishes and mat weren’t exactly tedious, but you kept getting distracted by everything. Papyrus’ overwhelming enthusiasm was a great change of pace, but you still found yourself exhausted by it. Your energy was never the great when it came to dealing with people. Sans was much easier to be around in comparison. He was a lot like you, you observed, laid back and low energy, but you knew he was covering up something as you did. Being down all the time sucked, it took a lot to put on smiles all day... But hey, you could at least tell that he’d been genuine about them more than a few times. Yup, he was definitely cute, but at least you’d made your limits clear, and damned if you weren’t happy that he was accepting of it.

 

You rinsed and toweled down everything, and gave yourself another look in the mirror before heading out. You frowned a bit. You _really_ needed to re-dye your hair. You went back out to the common area and set everything back in the tank. You couldn’t help but breathe in deep at the smell of sauce and pasta cooking on the stove. It made you homesick, your mom loved making spaghetti whenever you came home for the holidays and, well, you felt like you’d give her a call the next day, perhaps.

“Smells good, dude.”

“BUT OF COURSE, HUMAN! I AM THE BEST AT MAKING SPAGHETTI!

“heh. hey buddy, i don’t remember you being here before.”

You looked over and saw that Sans had finally woken, and he and Pancake were having a staring contest. Pancake, in his lizardly ways, scrambled further up Sans’ torso, licking the skeleton’s shoulder before eyeing you. He chuckled a bit nervously and looked to you for help.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s just like that.”

“you humans find the strangest things to keep as pets.”

He moved a digit carefully, expecting the lizard to react, and gently stroked it along its back.

“heh. it’s like shaking hands with Alphys, but bumpier.”

You watched him do that a few more times, then you noticed a certain look in the reptile’s eyes as he moved towards Sans’ head, wiggled his dumb butt, and.

 

“Aw jeez.”

 

You rushed around the counter to grab the mischief maker as it leaped at the side of Sans’ head, scrambling in vain to crawl up top. You scooped him up as Sans jumped and flinched, and the beast wiggled in your hands before settling again. Sans laughed as you quietly scolded it, placing it back in its tank.

“feisty! did he get that from you?”

You gave him a look and plopped down on the loveseat next to the couch.

“I think he saw the top of your head as a basking spot. He’s fucking weird.”

You both laughed as Papyrus started putting his finishing touches on dinner, hell even the cat had emerged for attention as you flipped to a new show to watch.

 

  
You hadn’t felt so great in years, you were starting to enjoy what you’d gotten yourself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://zonbiconbi.tumblr.com/post/143783601124/
> 
> This is what Pancake is like. He moves to higher ground, then he licc triumphantly.
> 
> (If you want to ask me about the fic or talk about it or something, the blog in the above link is indeed mine ;0)


	5. The Bottle's Gotta Burst Eventually...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have a complete, total, utter breakdown.
> 
> Sans compares Frisk to a space robot.

A month had passed before you knew it, and soon your school load was getting heavier to the point that you were often in your room for days at a time. Midterms were a bitch, didn’t matter what sort of school you were going to.

Despite everything, you were confident that you’d finally got over that awkward stranger-in-the-house stage of new roommates. Frankly, with people as charismatic as Papyrus and as relaxed as Sans, it certainly made the change easier to settle into. Papyrus had fallen in love with Pancake when you let him hand feed the little guy some vegetables, and even Sans seemed to get used to it. Monsters were, well, _incredible!_ Papyrus had been right about monsters easily making friends, because they invited Undyne and her girlfriend Alphys over at one point, and you and the dinosaur soon started talking like you’d known each other your entire lives. You _may_ have cracked a joke or two about conspiracy theorists and sci-fi television being partially right about lizard people living underground, and that seemed to ease things up right away.

Before you knew it, work became heavy, and you’d often take dinner to your room and disappear to class before the brothers could get in a single hello. Sometimes you didn’t see them for days at a time. God, you wanted to, but... the work. The work, parents calling, friends still being too busy to even talk, and your god awful procrastination sessions spent staring at the ceiling and wondering why you were even here. They were considerate all things considered, but you didn’t know if you wanted to talk too much, you were getting low again, and that meant being constantly moody and snappy and having a meltdown over tiny things.

 

The weekend before your midterms were due, your computer froze and shut off, and you lost just about fifty percent of all your work. It was 10 at night and you tried so hard not to burst out, but god you were so exhausted and hated yourself for all of this. You shouted at the computer and slammed your fist on the desk, immediately wincing as pain shot through it. Damn, that was going to bruise now, wasn’t it? Perfect. Pathetic! You’re pathetic! Why did you make the effort to go to school here? Why’d your parents say you’d do great when you’re living so far away from them now and making an ass of yourself? You should just drop out, everybody else is so much better than you are at everything.

 

Hot tears stung your eyes, and you you shook, rubbing your arm as you tried not to break.

 

You heard a quiet knock at your door, and you rubbed your eyes quickly as Sans’ deep voice echoed into your room.

“hey, doing alright in there?”

You didn’t respond right away. He probably thought you were avoiding him and his brother at this point. He’d finally come to see you about that, hadn’t he?

“No...” you finally admitted.

There was another moment of silence before he spoke again. “mind if I come in? you’re, uh, decent right?”

Your laugh was strained, he hadn’t forgotten that chat at all. You shook your head, looking back at your computer as you tried turning it on. Maybe autosaves happened, but you probably forgot to turn that stuff on like a complete idiot.

“I am...”

The door creaked open, but you didn’t turn around. You just typed in your password and sat, waiting for the computer to boot up all the way. You knew you shouldn’t have used the laptop for all this shit. The desk lamp was the only source of light, angled upward to light up the room a bit. Crumpled papers littered the floor around your desk, overflowing from your trash can. You should have cleaned this up, god. This is pathetic. He was going to see that now wasn't he? See you were just a mess barely holding it together on days like these.

 

“these sketchbooks yours?”

You looked up at him after opening some of your programs in hopes of recovering _something_. He was examining the pile of open books on your bed. You had them open for reference. You and him exchanged a look and you nodded.

“Yeah. Part of my work.”

He smiled, “it’s good stuff. you going to that art college downtown? i’ve seen some of the buildings a few times on the way to work.”

You groaned, feeling _worse_ . “God, I never told you guys?” You ran your fingers through your hair and laughed bitterly. “Man, I’ve been a damn recluse. I haven’t even _talked_ to you in what, a couple of days now? I’m an asshole, god.”

“woah easy kid, nobody here thinks you’re an asshole.”

You looked up at him, and for the first time you were sure you saw a whole lot of concern in his features. His brows furrowed. Must have finally noticed the bags under your eyes, the fact that your hair was unkempt and growing wild on the once-was buzzed side.

 

“hey, what’s wrong adelaide?”

 

Everything shattered at his voice, and you curled up into your knees, choking back a sob.

 

“Everything’s wrong, Sans!” You gestured at your computer, “Everybody’s got it out for me, even my own shit! I work hard at this shit, but I’m realizing that I wasn’t meant for any of this. My art’s crap and everybody does so much better stuff.G-god, I’m a year from graduating and I’m only now realizing I made a mistake coming here.”

You could feel the tears sliding down your cheeks, but you couldn’t stop now, you couldn’t bottle it up forever. Sans was just the unlucky fellow to get the ball rolling.

“I'm just a joke. Who’d want to hire me? Nobody! I’ve tried for everything! Internships, freelance, I’ve even applied for retail out of desperation for _somebody_ to say I’m good enough for them. Nobody even responds! I’m a nobody, I’m just fooling myself, but it’s too late for me to back out. I’ll be in mountains of debt from all the loans, and going elsewhere just means _more_ to the pile. I can’t afford it, and I don't want to just leech off of my parents. Scholarships are the only reason I’m _here!_ ”  You were sniffling, rubbing your eyes repeatedly to no avail.  
“A-and I’m just. I’m wasting it all. I’m wasting everything on a field I’m just not meant to be in. My professors and peers all hate me, my work is lazy and-- and pathetic, _I’m_ lazy and pathetic! You guys probably just hang around out of pity because I punched a racist for you once.”  
You curled up, hiding your face in your knees.

“I hate myself. I’m s-sick and tired of it all.”

 

You sniffled, still choking back more ugly sobs as you shivered until you felt a warm, bony hand on your shoulder. You looked up, and saw that Sans had knelt down beside you, white pupils dim in his sockets.  
“you’re not lazy or pathetic, adelaide. and we hang around because we _like_ you, really and truly.” he smiled softly at you, he’d been patient as you cried, and he rubbed your shoulder with his thumb as he continued to speak.  
“you’re a really cool human, and this stuff i’m seeing in these books? they’re great. to hell with those people who aren’t giving you the time you deserve. they’re stupid for turning you down, i’m sure paps and everybody would agree.”

 

Your lip quivered, and you wiped your eyes again, trying to smile. You ended up just crying again, leaning towards him as he pulled you into a big warm hug. He stroked your hair and kept quiet as you got the rest of your frustration out. Eventually, you were spent, and sat back, attempting a smile.

“You’re a great friend, Sans. Thanks.”

He winked at you, “s’what friends are for, right? it wouldn’t be very _ice_ of me if i gave you the cold shoulder over this.”

You cracked a little smile. “That was terrible. Your puns are usually so much cooler than that.”

His eyes twinkled, and you realized you’d made an accidental pun. Your smile grew a bit more, but you were far from being okay. He patted your shoulder and pulled you to stand, looking down with a tilt of his head.

“you look ready to collapse, should i clear out. gonna survive without me?”

Something in your stomach twisted and you shook your head quickly, taking a moment to look at your computer and the sketchbooks lying on your bed.

“No, I have shit to do, gotta make up for lost time now.” You shrugged weakly. “I don’t sleep well anyways. I’ve been meaning to see a doctor, but I don’t know if it’d help any.”

He looked at you seriously, putting a hand back on your shoulder. You welcomed the contact, his hand, despite being literal bone, was warm, and you appreciated the gesture.

“what’s your class tomorrow?” 

“Huh?”

“your class. paps says you’re usually out the door at ten on mondays. can you skip tomorrow?”

“Sans, I really shouldn’t... but...” you sighed, “it’s just a lecture class, and I finished the midterm paper last week because I knew I’d be too busy otherwise.”

His serious expression seemed to falter to a smile for a moment, but he still held your gaze.

“then take the day off and hang out with me. i don’t have any work tomorrow. even if you don’t do anything for your other classes, you’ll feel a hell of a lot better. trust me, i know.” he chuckled sadly. “heh, you have no idea how much i know.”

“Is that why you’re always napping? And why Papryrus says you’re lazy?”

You’d said it quietly, you hadn’t really meant to say it out loud. It was an observation, it was harder for a skeleton to cover up bags under his eye sockets after all. He gave you the saddest look you’d ever seen, but sooner than you could blink it was gone, and his expression was back to “normal”. He shrugged.

“nah, i have insomnia too. small world, right?”

That look he’d given you said more than that, but you knew what it was like to bottle it up, you understood him and smiled faintly. “No kidding.”

 

There was a moment of silence before Sans coughed, rocking on his heels.

“well uh, feel like a movie? way better sitting around waiting for sleep that isn’t gonna happen.”

You smiled. “Sure, I’m feeling like Iron Giant right now.”

“sounds good to me. come on, let’s get outta here.”

 

You followed him out to the living room, and he fished out the dvd from your collection before plopping down on the couch next to you. God, you hated how much crying drained you, you didn’t want to move or even pay complete attention. Some ways through the movie, you’d managed to lean against Sans’ side, sapping up the heat like a little sponge.

 

You were so tired, you didn’t even notice when his arm wrapped around your shoulders.

 

~———————~

 

It was three in the morning when the film finished, and Sans was feeling pretty sentimental when the credits started rolling. Humans came up with amazing things sometimes, didn’t they? Giant robots that fought their programming to help people they cared about, choosing to be the hero an sacrifice themselves. It reminded him of Frisk a little, though Frisk hadn’t blown themselves up to stop a nuclear bomb. They _had_ let themselves get hurt as they reached out for him, a stolen soul who’d given up in the tangled, thorny vines, he'd never fully understood what happened, or remembered details... He knew he was having a really bad time though. They’d nearly passed out after the ordeal, but they’d opened the barrier for him, for Papyrus, for everybody, even complete strangers.

And this time they’d promised never to reset. They promised him that as he stared at the sunrise for the first time in his life.

 

Frisk was a just tiny human, but as much a giant in this timeline as the one in the film had been.

 

He looked down at you, finally noticed that you’d given in to exhaustion and fell asleep. He smiled, arm still wrapped around your shoulders. It was a nice feeling, having somebody around who got the sleepless nights stuff, even if the reasons and causes were different.

He _really_ didn’t want to get up, but he knew you’d probably prefer to wake up in your own bed, and he begrudgingly stood, scooping you up into his arms to carry you back to your room. He set you down in your bed and got you under the top sheet. He even picked Lucy up and put the cat by you. She merely purred and curled up near your arms. He patted your shoulder lightly and turned to leave until he realized the laptop was still on. He went over to it with intents to turn it off, and noticed the two programs you’d opened.

Both of them were for arts, he could tell that much, but something made his nonexistent heart grow as he saw the file names followed by [recovered] in each program. He put the computer in sleep mode and closed the lid, then he grabbed a piece of paper and a nearby pen.

He turned off the desk lamp and left your room, going back to his room to try to sleep himself. He hoped things would ease up when you woke up, he knew better than most how easy it was to want to give up sometimes. Your excuse was a condition he knew was purely human, and Sans... Sans was just a little cyan soul surrounded by bones. The resets had done too much to him, and he thought that maybe he didn’t need brain chemicals to be affected like you.

 

He’d seen the dull edges around your soul as you slept, and he wondered as he lay in bed if his soul would be like that too, if he was human like you.

 

He really didn’t want to think about it, he knew you could tell how much his entire self seemed to ache, and he didn’t want to share that sort of burden with somebody who was already dealing with so much themselves.

He sighed, turning over for the twelfth time in an hour.

He liked your company, but he didn't think you’d ever want to know how deep his own problems went. If you knew... god, he didn’t even want to think about that.

  
He closed his eyes in frustration, tired of thinking about it. Maybe he’d feel better tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~who knew you could make yourself feel better by writing indirectly about it lmao~~


	6. Musical Fanaticism At It's Finest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you watch movies and bake cookies with Sans and he sets you the fuck up

_hey, your files are all recovered. dunno how much progress you lost but it’s better than nothing right?_

_Anyways computer’s in sleep mode, everything’s ready for when you’re up._

_i’m rooting for you adelaide._

_\- sans, aka your roommate the skeleton_

 

You’d probably read the note Sans had left for you five times over before opening the computer up. Your heart fluttered before, but now it leapt with joy, if not relief. There they were, with some progress lost but not enough to put you behind. You’d woken up rather confused, and this and your note brought everything back. A long day of working, the computer crash, a tight hug and reassuring words that you wanted to hear him say again and again to make it stick. Hell, you’d forgotten you’d even been watching movies with the skeleton last night until you saw a DVD missing from your bookshelves of media. He’d put you back in bed when you fell asleep, and you smiled. That was really sweet of him. Note to self! Give him an extra tight hug for that and for helping you through your meltdown.

You stretched, not bothering to do much else than smooth out what you were wearing, (the same pjs from last night) and brush your teeth. You’d checked the time, and it was a little past midday. You’d say you felt better, but honestly you knew that your emotional state was still teetering. Sans probably had it right that you’d need the day off, you were already feeling guilty that you’d skipped class, and that you’d gotten a good night’s sleep only after sobbing for about an hour.

You grunted and stretched again, popping your spine a few times before lazily making your way out to the kitchen for tea... or maybe coffee, you hadn’t made up your mind yet. Your cat meowed and followed ahead, going right for the empty bowl next to the kitchen counter. You sighed, filling it up and patting her head as she ignored you in favor of her meal. Stood up and looked around, seeing no sign of your roommates. Papyrus was already out by now of course, he mentioned that he worked at a monster-run coffee shop downtown, and he wouldn’t be back until evening. Sans however was also nowhere to be seen, and you looked towards his door with a bit of sympathy. Sleeping through the day too, huh? Going back to sleep sure was tempting...

You shrugged and made two cups of tea, you had some loose leaf ginseng you’d been meaning to use up anyways. You had tea making down to a science. Water, kettle, wait for the whistle, put a little bit into the teapot and swirl it around, empty. Put the loose leaf into the strainer, pour hot water through strainer into teapot, let sit, take strainer out after a few minutes and pour tea. You liked to think you were bad at a lot of stuff, but at least you knew how to brew some damn good tea. You mixed a little honey into both mugs and took one down the hall.

You hesitated in front of Sans’ door, wondering if you should disturb him... But midday was pretty late, and you really wanted to hang out some more. You knocked the door once, waited, and heard the shifting of a mattress on the other side.

“Sans you up? I made you tea.”

“mrghh” you heard a yawn, another shift on the mattress, and sans’ deep voice again. “yeah yeah okay hold on. Lemme,” he yawned again, “remember how to walk first.”

You cracked a smile, and that was the first thing Sans got to see as he opened the door. You could see it was dark in there, almost too dark to see without adjusting first. He had all the curtains closed, not that you could judge him. You were the same. His expression seemed to brighten as you held out the mug of hot tea for him. He took it and stepped out into the hall.

“thanks buddy. sleep alright?”

“I could go for more sleep, but I know better.” You laughed, stopping him real quick as he raised the mug up for a drink. “Oh careful, it’s still hot. You’ll burn your tongue”

He gave you an amused look, and you gave him a stranger one back. “Look I _know_ it’s there, it’s kinda hard to miss. Nothing sucks more than the aftereffects of getting burned.”

“you sure do like to point it out, dont ya?” he stuck it out at you jokingly, and you snorted with only a hint of amusement.

“It’s _weird._ At least the other stuff’s invisible.”

“oh you mean my tendons?” he waggled his eyebrows at you and took a sip of tea, reeling back slightly in pain. “fuck, it _is_ hot.”

“I told you, dude!” you laughed, walking out into the living room with him. You grabbed your mug and the two of you plopped down on the couch while you fiddled with the remote. “You’re not letting me off easy, are you?”

“nope.”

“Jerk.”

“so I’ve been told.” he winked at you and flashed the sharp ends of his teeth at you in a grin.

 

You rolled your eyes and nudged his side with your elbow, giving those teeth another curious look. And he watched you do it too. He nudged you back while you scrolled through your streaming services and grinned.

“and before you go asking undyne about it again...” you groaned and hung your head, and he grinned wider, “yeah it’s blue, it’s magic but it’s... permanent? dad was a scientist you see.”

You gave him an incredulous look, “so he experimented on you as a kid? Did he do it to Papyrus too”

He shrugged “i mean, he knew it wouldn’t be dangerous if it failed, and the side effects would have been magical and wear off over time. i’ve read all his notes on it. he wanted to see how magic manifestation worked, and doing self experimentation would be too difficult to properly observe.”

“You were a _kid_.”

He shrugged again, “eh. There are a billion worse tests he coulda used me and paps for. he uh, he may not have been around for us a whole lot, being busy all the time, but he still made damn sure we weren’t gonna be hurt by any of it. he created us to be lab rats after all, he just happened to get attached.”

Your brows were still furrowed, and you kept your eyes on him as he spoke, suddenly unable to feel any warmth from your mug. He glanced your way and gave you a reassuring smile.  
“aw don’t give me that look, yeah it wasn’t the best childhood but like... you know how you can remember very specific things from your childhood? Like the first time you went on a merry go round or how you met your first friend?”

He waits, you nod, and he continues.

“he probably did some stuff to me when I was still a babybones sure, but he got attached, i still remember when he let me hold paps for the first time.” His smile was soft in reminiscence, “dad said to me, ‘my son, meet your baby brother. his name is papyrus’. i was probably six or seven then, and he called me son for the first time while i held paps.”

You still didn’t know what to think, you were so used to friends having, well, terrible parents. Sans’ father didn’t sound stellar, but still...

“Forgive the comparison, but you’re making this sound like he got himself some guinea pigs to dissect and ended up adopting them instead.”

Sans chortled, taking a sip of his now cooler tea.

“at least he didn’t name me ‘fluffy’. i mean he still did shit to us, but nothing that was too dangerous. ‘m pretty sure he did the dangerous shit to me until he made paps. i literally can’t take a hit, and for somebody my age i’m, uh.” his brows furrowed, “undyne would probably say i’m op.”

You snorted loud, almost spilling your mug of all its tea in the process, and he couldn’t help but laugh too.  
“hehe, so uh, yeah, there’s your backstory for the blue tongue. happy?”

You continued to giggle for a moment, taking a gulp of tea to calm yourself.  
“Damn dude, that’s one hell of a backstory. It’s like it tried to be tragic but changed its mind halfway through. Why don’t you talk about stuff like that more often? It’s cool!”

He shrugged, sobering a bit, “my dad was pretty alright, but i just, sometimes my memories of him are fuzzy. it’s been a long time since i’ve seen him ‘n stuff.”

Oh... Your heart sank and you looked up at him.

 

“He’s...?”

“lab accident at the core. i was there helping out when it happened.”

 

He looked down at his mug with a distant expression, as if he’d just shut off emotion for a moment. He stared into the mug and you knew better than to ask. There were just some things you couldn’t pry out. You set down your mug for a moment and turned fully to face him on the couch, putting a hand over his.

“I’m... sorry you had to deal with something like that... But I’m glad you made it at least.”  
He looked up at you, still blank, still devoid of anything with pupils dim in his sockets. Your soul seemed to ached at the sight and you smiled with all the sympathy and affection you could manage.  
“I’m glad we were able to meet, that we became friends and stuff. I dunno why but like, I feel like even if we’d never met, I’d miss you a lot.”

You could see some of the brightness return to his eyes, maybe even the crack of a smile, and he leaned towards you and pulled you in with one arm for a hug, resting his chin on the top of your head.  
“thanks, buddy. that... that means a lot.”  
He leans away and grabs your hand, putting it into both of his with a guilty look.  
“sorry, today was about making _you_ feel better. didn’t mean to toss some of my baggage at you.”

You smiled and shrugged, “I’m happy when my friends are happy. I’m a huge sap like that.” You wink at him playfully, “and saying you’re _rooting_ for me is enough to make my day.”

The light in his eyes came back fully and his cheekbones started to turn a little blue. His grin widened and he squeezed your hand with a chuckle. “that pun was unbe- _leaf_ -ably basic, addy.”

 

You laughed, shoving him away. “Alright, enough mood-whiplash,” you stood up, grabbing your mug and downing the rest of your tea in one go. “Let’s do something before this room gets any mushier.”

“what did you have in mind?”

“Baking while watching musicals, best remedy for a meltdown afterburn. And you gotta help, or I’ll sing every song off key on purpose.”

He grabbed the remote from the table and filtered through your movie options.

“alright, get the ingredients ready and i’ll pick one out.” he paused and stared at the television with a weird look, “uh... okay actually i don’t think i’ve seen any musicals that weren’t disney. got recommendations?”

 

You pondered it for a moment while pulling out a bag of flour. “Hm... well Into The Woods is pretty fun... Uh, Prince of Egypt is animated like the disney ones, but it’s absolutely gorgeous in every way. Hairspray’s pretty lighthearted and it might resonate with you a bit, but I’d save that for later. Hm...”

Out came the sugar, oatmeal, and some nutmeg and cinnamon. You looked over to him, he was still flicking through choices.

“Les Miserables is _super_ depressing, but it’s hard to go wrong with anything with Hugh Jackman in it. Rent’s equally sad and I usually cry when I watch it, but damn if the songs aren’t catchy.”

You grabbed bowls, utensils, you even got the big mixer your old roommates had left as consolation for having to leave.

“Dunno, they’re all pretty good. Pick one and I’ll probably know it and have a good time.”

He shrugged while you set out everything on the counters. Pancake eyed you from his tank while Sans selected a film. You couldn’t see the clever little smile on the skeleton's face face as he pressed play.

“i think i’ve heard of that first one before. fairytales gone wrong or something right?”

“Close enough,” you laughed, “now get your bony-butt over here and help me. We’re making oatmeal raisin cookies.”

~———————~

You and Sans were well into part two of Into The Woods by the time you’d started getting the cookie dough onto the baking tray. You’d broken out into song so often that you kept forgetting to do the most basic things such as break the eggs or mix in the sugar. Sans had absolutely lost it at your over the top performance of “Agony”, as you sang out complete with a ridiculous attempt at a deep “princely” voice and melodramatic acting.

 

Sans had to stop stirring near the end of the first act just to watch you. He didn’t even try to get you to stop. He’d be fine finishing up here, and he sprinkled some extra raisins in for good measure.

As you were using an ice scream scoop to dish out the dough onto the pan when “Any Moment” started to play. He was almost more distracted by the film than you were, though perhaps it helped that he’d never seen it before. He was humming along with it though, and he couldn’t help but get a few ideas from it. He smiled and turned to you, grabbing your free hand to sing when the Prince’s lines came around again.

“foolishness can happen in the woods.” his smile got sly as he brought your hand up to his mouth. “ _once again please_.”

He planted a kiss on the top of your hand, and oh _man_ , that little stunt was so worth the look on your face.

“UM.”

He let go of your hand with a laugh, lightly poking your reddening cheek before helping you with the dough, quietly singing along with the next few lines while you recovered. Holy shit, pretending not to know this musical was worth it for this song alone, getting you beet red was an absolute delight!

“You set that up.” you groaned finally.

“a vhs recording of the play fell into the underground a while back. it’s the only non-disney one i know.”

You grabbed the tray while he watched you with an obnoxious grin. Bet you didn’t know he could sing, huh? You stood up and faced him after setting the timer, taking some of the excess cookie dough off the counter and sticking it between his brow bones.

“You little shit.”

He laughed and grabbed a towel to wipe his face off with while you plopped down on the couch. He followed after and sat down next to you, eyes glued back on the screen as you hummed along with the last few songs. You were up to pull out the baked cookies once the next film started, and once the next batch was in you came back to see his arm already in position along the back of the couch. You rolled your eyes and he gave you an innocent look, as if his arm had been there first. You sat a little closer to him that time, singing to your favorite numbers while he hummed along.

Oh yeah, Sans was really starting to like this. Waking up that morning thinking he was back in Snowdin had nearly put him in a panic, but getting flirty with you and having a low energy day off healed that over for the time. He wasn't fond of dealing with that the next day though, or the day after that... or the day after that...

You know what? Fuck that noise, he was going to enjoy this moment right now. There was nothing on earth that could happen right now to peel him away from you.

~———————~

You were ridiculously distracted by his humming all throughout the next musical. Holy _shit his voice was attractive._ Deep and rich like melted dark chocolate drizzled over a just ripe strawberry. He didn’t tell you he could sing! Papyrus didn’t even tell you that his brother could sing! At some point you two had started singing together whenever a two-man number came along, even if he didn’t always keep up with unfamiliar lyrics.

This was a great time, you could do this forever if you had the choice. His company was good company, and little by little you were starting to get more and more attached to the goofball.

The films started to blend into each other, and two batches later, (you two had goofed off and in doing so made _way_ too much dough), you and him were falling asleep after a few devoured cookies. This was the perfect day off, especially with you around.

~———————~

Papyrus came home to the two of you on the couch fast asleep, leaning against each other with Sans’ head lolled against yours and an arm wrapped around you.

The streaming menu was back to the selection screen after whatever you’d played last had finished, and by the likes of it it had been some time since then. Papyrus covered his mouth and giggled, grabbing some leftovers and a few of the cookies you and Sans had made. He’d make fun of you guys in the morning, for now he’d let you sleep, waking you two now would just ruin it.

 

After all, he hadn’t seen his brother look so peaceful in a long while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fluff? fluff. fluffy fluff fluff. _fluff_
> 
> [Link to the the musical number Sans got his lines from...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLfKinfpmFs)  
>  and a [link to the very specific recording of said musical that they watched, since everybody deserves to see the whole thing.](https://youtu.be/kqCsQCsinK4)
> 
> (Yes she showed him the 2014 version of "Agony" later, if only for the furious ripping open of shirts)


	7. The Jolly Roger's Got Nothing On You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has two near panic attacks. Undyne ships you and him, makes you work extra hard at lifting weights, and you're challenged to pick up Sans as well.

Ahh, the blissful state of waking up after a great sleep.

Warm and comfy, feeling rested but more than glad to keep sleeping, no obligations or desire to move. This was the life.

You curled up a bit in bed, arm clinging to your biggest, fluffiest pillow as you slowly woke up. You were unbelievably comfortable, as if your mattress had gotten softer overnight. You shifted, not really opening your eyes as you tried to lull yourself back to sleep. You could hear the sizzling of bacon, the tv on low volume. Huh, you don’t remember leaving your door open... you don’t really remember falling asleep either. You’d been baking and watching musicals with Sans yesterday, right?  
Ah well, you’d worry about it later, you snuggled into your pillow and sighed...

  
You finally noticed that your pillow was steadily rising and falling beneath you.

 

Your eyes snapped open, seeing the television playing a cooking show starring... a robot? Hold on, the name was on the tip of your tongue, Mettaton? You remember Papyrus mention him a number of times... But that was aside the point. You hadn’t left the couch, this wasn’t your bed. You moved to shift and sit up, and realized you were restrained by a heavy arm. Your eyes grew wide, and you struggled just enough that you could turn your head to see what was going on.

 

Turns out, your pillow just happened to be Sans.

 

You stared for a moment, cheeks red, watching him sleep and look so... peaceful. You breathed out. There was no stress seen in his features, and the filtered light from the nearby window hit his face in a way that really made him seem immaculate, like out of a painting, if artists ever drew skeletons taking naps. You lay there in silence just listening to him breathe and feeling his chest rise and fall. Wow... you were almost blown away by it, but you suddenly remembered that bacon was sizzling.

Somebody else was in the room.

 

You struggled to move to look around, but there he was Papyrus. He was cooking breakfast, and he had this look on his face that made you turn even redder. You struggled to get out of his brother’s grasp, but he seemed to only grumble and hold onto you tighter, squeezing you into a sleepy embrace. You wiggled to no avail, and Papyrus finally turned to see what was going on. You gave him a pathetic deer-in-the-headlights look and he shot you a mischievous grin that said numbers.

You mouthed a help me, and he nodded, but not without snapping a picture first. Oh you were gonna kill him... You saw him suck in a breath and you prepared yourself for his permanent-outdoors voice.

“SANS WAKE UP YOU LAZYBONES.”

Any peacefulness in Sans’ face was gone in an instant, all to be replaced by utter panic and he gasped and sat up suddenly, causing you to fall off of him and land on the floor with a painful thud. While you groaned and held onto your hip in dull pain, Sans looked left and right with heavy, worried breaths, taking a good few moments to realize where he was. He let out a long sigh, tense body relaxing back into the couch as he let out a tense laugh.

“papyrus ya really scared the shit out of me there.”

“I APOLOGIZE, DEAR BROTHER. BUT ADELAIDE WANTED OFF AND-”

“wait, wanted off?”

 

He blinked and saw you in his periphery. He sat up and saw you still grimacing on the floor. His cheekbones turned blue when he realized you two had fallen asleep together... and woken up with you resting comfortably on his stomach. At the same time, you both seemed to realize that over the course of the night, the two of you had shifted into that position, completely unconscious the whole time. You two exchanged embarrassed, knowing looks, both of you trying to hold back blushes. He coughed and sat up, turning to offer you a hand.

“heh, sorry I knocked you off the couch. you okay buddy?”

You took his arm and he pulled you up into a sitting position. You rubbed your neck and groaned.

“I’ve been better...” you grumbled more under your breath. “I was comfortable, too.”

He laughed awkwardly and sat up properly, giving you a look.

“s’that so?”

“OH MY GOD, GET A ROOM!!!”

You both looked at Papyrus in shock, seeing that he had turned back to breakfast with a dramatic huff. You stared at Sans, then back to Papyrus, and in an instant you two were talking over each other to explain.

 

“paps, bro it’s not like that uh-”

“Dude no I didn’t even, I don’t swing-”  
“we’re not-”

“We weren’t.”

 

“NYEHEHEHEHE,” Papyrus laughed, cutting you off, “WHATEVER HELPS YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT! THOUGH THAT ‘WHATEVER‘ APPEARS TO BE EACH OTHER!”

“Oh my god.” You looked at Sans helplessly, and he did the same, “Can I go back to sleep? I feel like being unconscious all the sudden.”

He just grumbled as you stood up, maybe watching a bit too long as you rubbed your hip to ease the dull aching.

“too late for that, doubt he’ll let you go back to sleep now.”

“OF COURSE NOT! ESPECIALLY SINCE UNDYNE SAID SHE IS GOING TO BE HERE SOON!”

“WHAT?”

You snapped to full attention, looking around in a panic. The place wasn’t messy, but you were in pjs and your hair was probably unkempt and, oh god you don’t even remember if anybody had invited her.

“YES SHE MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT YOU MISSING SOMETHING YESTERDAY, AND THAT YOU NEEDED TO MAKE IT UP TO HER.”

Ah, fuck, that’s right, yesterday was... “Gym day. I forgot gym day.”

You buried your face in your hands for a moment.

“Man she’s gotta be so pissed about that. We have a schedule.”

“THAT IS OKAY, SHE IS COMING OVER TO FIX THAT NOW!”

“Please dont tell her about-” you pleaded as you beelined towards your room, only to be cut off by loud knocking on your door. You winced, and opened the door in defeat. The blue fish monster stared you down with a toothy grin, arms crossed over her black tank in a way you _knew_ was so she could flex her biceps at you. She had a duffel bag hauled over her shoulder filled with god knows what, and her grin only grew as you stared.

 

“Too late, punk. Papyrus told me everything.”

 

~———————~

 

A dirty look in Papyrus’ direction, a nice breakfast, and a quick change into gym clothes later, you were ready to get out from your room to see what Undyne had in store for you when she blocked you in the doorway. She flashed you another grin and you let her into your room. You leaned against your bed and she sat down in your desk chair, hands behind her back.

 

“So...” her grin only grew, and you were already turning red. “Didn’t know you had a thing for short, fat, and bony.”

You hung your head and groaned in utter dismay. Even when preparing for it... yeah, you weren’t prepared.

“Undyne, dude I promise you it wasn’t... like that?”

Her expression was sly as a fox as she watched you, nodding with a sarcastic “Uh-huh, _sure._ ”

She leaned forward towards you and snickered. “That photo of you two being all cuddly this morning says otherwise.”

She stood up and leaned against the bed next to you, resting her head against her hand and batting her eye at you.

“Papyrus said that _Sans_ said that you’d had a bad night and needed the day off yesterday, but by the looks of it, you’re doing quite fine.”

 

Ugh, you hated when she gave you the innocent look. At least the sly-fox grin was easier to fight back against. You sighed, and gave in, explaining, well, everything. Your depression, the complete meltdown, Sans’ validation and reassurances, and you even let slip that he’d kissed your hand in the middle of a musical number yesterday (Undyne tried so hard not to tease you about it, bless her).

“And besides,” you finished, “there’s nothing wrong with fat short and bony... I’ll admit it. He’s cute.”

Her face had softened quite a bit, she she pulled you into a tight hug that squeezed all the air out of you. She ruffled your hair and you whined, trying to fix it after she let you go.

“Aw Addy, you shoulda told me you were feeling like that! You know I’d have your back. Alphys is super anxious too, so I sorta understand what you musta been going through.” She patted your shoulder and gave you a soft smile, the corners of her eye crinkling a bit.

“If you’re ever feeling like that and you can’t talk to the boneheads, give me a call alright? I’ll help you through it, I’ll come over and flex for you and everything!”

She flexed an arm for emphasis, and you laughed, standing up and stretching with a big smile.

“Your biceps are a cure-all, Undyne.” You winked at her and she guffawed, patting your head again knowing it’d rile you up a bit.

“Too bad I’m taken, huh? Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure Sans is free.”

You gave her a look as you went towards the door, and her fly-fox grin was back.

“It’s so obvious he likes you, punk.” She stood up and followed you out of the bedroom. “Come on, let’s get your muscles screaming.”

 

The small innuendo didn’t sail over your head, and it annoyed you that she’d go right there first. You weren’t like her, the swing just wasn’t your style after all. You sighed bitterly and followed her back into the common room, which had been rearranged for you and Undyne to use properly.

 

She pulled out weights from your bag while you stretched, Sans and Papyrus watching from the kitchen, leaning against the kitchen to see what you were capable of. Sans whistled when he saw the tattoo on your left shoulder. You looked at him, then down to the ink, and realized up until now it’d been too cold for you to wear anything less than a short sleeve shirt and long pants while indoors. Now he could get a good look, and you hoped secretly that he’d like it.

It was your typical skull and crossbones, but instead of a human’s skull, it was a tyrannosaur one instead, and the bones were brown with fossilization. You flexed your arm at him and his smile grew, Papyrus next to him practically squealed at the tattoo.

“WOWIE. THAT’S SO COOL! IT’S LIKE A PIRATE FLAG BUT WITH A DIFFERENT SKULL.”

“Tyrannosaurus-rex, my dude. Way more badass.” You laughed and went back to stretching, “Jolly Roger’s got nothing on me.”

“it’s super cool, Addy.”

Undyne gave you a ‘told you so’ look when she was satisfied that you were ready to get started. Flashing a big smile at the bone bros.

“Enough goo goo eyes, boys, let her lift. You ready punk?”

You nodded at her, leaning to crack your back with a nice set of pops. The adoration in Sans and Papyrus’ eyes was replaced with something utterly uncomfortable. You gave them a look, and they gave you a _really_ concerned one back. You shrugged, your back wasn’t broken, you just cracked it a bit so you wouldn’t throw it while lifting. Was it because they’re all bone? Maybe that was it. No matter you crossed your arms and faced Undyne and nodded.

 

“Ready.”

 

“Alright. Drop down and give me twenty!”

 

~———————~

 

Undyne was making you work double your usual routine as punishment for skipping yesterday, you were convinced of it. The barbells she’d handed you were forty pounds each, and she had you do curls and squats with them until your body was screaming for rest. She stood on your feet as you did crunches, timed your planks (she made you go for two minutes each time! Two! Minutes!), and worked you to the bone.

 

When she was satisfied and you were a pile of mush on the floor, she handed you your water bottle and patted your back, pulling you to your feet. Some time during the workout, Papyrus had started on a late lunch, and you all sat down at ate. God, it was so tasty, food always tasted good after a workout, no matter what you were eating. Sans laughed while you devoured everything on your plate, pushing a meatball around his also empty plate.

“didn’t realize you were _that_ strong there, buddy. no wonder that guy you punched almost fell over from the impact.”

“YOU ARE IMPRESSIVE, HUMAN!” Papyrus said, looking up from his bowl of reheated spaghetti. “I BET YOU COULD LIFT UNDYNE IF YOU TRIED!”  
  
Undyne guffawed and gave him a look, “I bet she could lift Sans.”

“undyne, buddy, i’d rather not be dragged into this.” He gave you a wink, “she’s strong, but I dunno if she can manage somewhere around two hundred pounds of skeleton.”

Your eyes narrowed at him. “Oh... ooohhh you did _not_ just issue a challenge, bonehead.”

“i might have,” he said, teasing you. Yup that did it. You stood and pushed yourself away from the counter, moving back to the living room and gesturing for Sans to come to you. He did, looking just a little full of himself. It egged you on further, and he stood practically inches from you. You kept forgetting he was marginally taller than you, and you were suddenly starting to regret taking up the challenge.

“Alright,” you finally said, realized you’d been staring for a bit too long at his jaw again (it was barely under eye level, how could you not?). “Well uh, I could do a fireman’s carry, but personally I think that’s cheating so uh.”

You coughed, came to his side and put a hand on his back. “Just put your weight onto mine, you’ll know when.”

“if you even manage to get that far” he laughs.

 

You rolled your eyes and leaned down to hook your arm under his ankles and, using your other hand as a pivot point, put effort into lifting him off his feet. You strained, remembered to put everything into your legs, not your back, and with a growl managed to get him off the floor and into your arms, pulling him a big closer to you to keep your balance centered.

You were straining a bit, but you wanted to keep this moment solidified in his thick skull. You gave him a huge smug smile, and he looked at you in shock and utter delight. He was about to say something when Undyne cut in.

“DAMN GIRL! LOOK AT YOU!”

You grinned at her, momentarily widening your stance so you didn’t fall over.

“Why be the damsel in distress when I could be the knight, dude?”

Sans took that as an opportunity to pose in your arms, sticking a leg out dramatically and tossing a head back.

“oh good lady adelaide, you have saved me from the dragon! what _ever_ will you do next?”

You chuckled, but wobbled as he shifted. “Probably set you down if you keep wiggling, bonehead.”

“huh?”

“If you keep moving I’m gonna lose balance and-” He shifted again and that was it, your footing was lost and you toppled down like a house of cards, Sans coming with you.

 

For a moment, your vision was blurry, but when you came to, you could barely breathe as a huge weight bore down on you. You groaned, realizing you’d bumped the back of your head on the hardwood floor. You craned your head and saw Sans laying across you belly up, equally pained from the collapse. You groaned and let your head hit the hardwood again.

“What did I fucking tell you, Sans.”

“hehe, uh, sorry.” He sat up and off of you, and you were suddenly able to breathe.

“Come on bonehead!” Undyne chastised, “you were supposed to land on her all sexy like!”

You both shot her a look

 

“she doesn’t swing that way.”

“I don’t swing that way.”

 

Her ear fins twitched and she laughed, “So THAT’S why you’re always staring at me, kiddo!”

You shook your head again, sitting up with a hand on your slightly throbbing head.

“Don’t swing that way either Undyne. Frankly I don’t even know if I’m on the swing at all.”

She snorted, waving her hand, “Hey it’s not _all_ about the sexy stuff, but it’s cool Addy. I got ya.”

 

You sighed, monsters were so... welcoming about this stuff. You checked the time from the clock, noting it was getting close to when you’d need to leave for class. You groaned, standing up and brushing yourself up before hoisting Sans up as well. You stretch one more time, cracking your neck as well, and the warmth in his face turns to slight horror. He’s not even looking at you now, just through you, and you snap your fingers in his face to get his attention.

“Hey, Sans are you okay?”

“huh?” he blinked, and his face melted back to his trademark smile, “oh, heh, sorry. uh, hearing bones crack is a bit.... weird... when you’re a skeleton.”

That was a half truth and you both knew it, but you knew he’d just clam up if you tried. You knew him like you knew yourself, so you smiled and patted his shoulder.

“Sorry dude, I won’t do it again... or I’ll warn you boys.”

You turned and walked off, looking to Undyne in passing, “Give Paps a hand with the dishes will you? I gotta take a shower so I don’t go to class all sweaty.”

 

You left them there, and disappeared into your room.

 

For a while, Sans continued to stand there, flooded with unpleasant memories of similar cracks. Cracks in his own ribs, cracks in his neck... that one crack in Papyrus’ neck as his head was severed from his body... He shuddered, and disappeared back to his room as well, telling the remaining monsters that he needed another nap. There was surprisingly no protest, and he was happy with that. Everything had gone perfectly right up until you had to crack your neck, and now all he could feel was an itch at the back of his head that told him that he should panic.

 

He didn’t think he’d be able to sleep for a while, but he certainly tried his best.

 

~———————~

 

By six thirty, you were out of the shower and dressed, brushing teeth and blow drying your hair. By six forty-five, you were out the door with your bag of essentials for your class. Sketchbooks, pencils, and artist’s pens filling it almost to the brim.

By seven, you’d made it to your school building, and by seven fifteen you were in your classroom, setting up for your evening class.

You sat and listened to the professor drone on about the importance of line weights in visual storytelling, watched as he pulled up an example strip for the class to study, and sighed as you doodled away in the corner of your sketchbook.

He announced at the end of class, after going around and talking to everybody, that he was extending the deadline by one class, which elicited a chorus of relieved sighs around the room, including yours. Man, you were grateful for that, you’d forgotten to touch your project pages today and worried you’d be too far behind to finish on time. You didn’t have to worry about that now.

 

By nine forty-five, you were out the door and on your way home, walking down the lit streets of downtown while humming to yourself. You wanted to get back home as soon as possible and get some shuteye, you were tired from Undyne’s workout, and sitting around in class only made you emotionally tired as well. You were drained, and so unaware of your surroundings until you bumped into somebody.

You took a step back in shock, and one of three very drunk men took a step forward, a hand on his hip as he and his friends leered at you. Their smiles were nothing but alcohol-induced malice, and you froze, completely caught off guard and feeling fear crawl up your spine.

 

His smirk grew.

 

“Hey beautiful. What are you doing out this late?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "How strong are you?"  
> -picks up skeleton boyfriend-  
> tHIS STRONG.
> 
> Also oh my gosh you guys are seriously wonderful, thanks for being so supportive so far ;O;


	8. Lucy is the Real Star Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You outrun the drunk fellows, Sans takes you to Grillby's, and everybody meets your pet cat.

It was little past ten at night, and you were running.

Your heart pounded in your chest, your fist was clenched around a little bottle and the other was clutched around your keys. Your lungs were screaming, your legs threatened to break from exhaustion, but you still ran like it was your life on the line.

 

For all you knew, it was.

 

Those slimy, drunk... assholes! They blocked your way for ages, wolf whistling and slurring out “compliments”, and you’d threatened them to leave you alone. You were a real animal when you started a fight... or at least you were when not outnumbered by three men who dwarfed you. You tried to shove by and one grabbed your wrist and twisted you back with a painful squeeze. They didn’t let go, and your instinct to pull away was prevalent until you remembered your own strength. You punched the first in the gut, pepper spraying the second who charged to restrain you. You knew what they wanted the moment they confronted you, and you were too tired to properly deal with them. Your pepper spray was out in a flash, and the second man was on the floor in seconds, cradling his face as he wailed in agony. You stepped on the third man’s foot with enough force to hopefully break some phalanges, kicked the first in the nuts again for good measure, and bolted without a word.

They gave chase, of course, their pathetic definition of “honor” sullied by a supposed whore who looked like she was asking to be hit on. (Hah! A jacket and long pants wasn’t exactly showing skin.). They shouted slurs at you, and you had to hit one of them when they’d caught up, swinging your bag full of sketchbooks and sharp materials in their face. He was knocked out immediately from the force, but he’d given his friends time to catch up, so you were back to running again, running without a thought, charging in front of traffic and barely avoiding getting hit at least three times. It was late and only drunken idiots were awake at bars. You heard filthy slut, whore, bitch, the works, all being spilled from their mouths, and it rang so loud in your ears that you ran faster to get away from it. You knew you couldn’t take them all on right now, damn it Undyne! You might not even be able to take them on at peak condition, two of them seemed like they did college athletics.

Their voices dimmed and even when they disappeared, you’d kept running. You almost slammed into the door of the apartment building, the night guard letting you in. They saw your distress and let you go as you took the stairs... all five damn flights. You almost hit the apartment door from the momentum of your strides, fumbling with the keys as frightened sobs escaped you. You shoved the door open and bolted inside, slamming the door behind you. You didn’t care about noise, you were panting like a damn dog in the summer, and your legs gave out at last as you slid down against the door.

 

You were safe, you were ok. It was okay. No drunk guys here. You were safe. You were safe. You were safe. You were-

 

“adelaide?”

 

You jumped, scrambling for the moment at the sound of the deep voice. ‘Hey there beautiful!’ ‘What’s a pretty lady doing out so late huh?’ ‘Where are you going?’ ‘Don’t walk away from me!’ You heard their voices in your head, event replaying in your head.

Your adrenaline was still pumping wildly through you, and all you could think of was running again. You breathed heavily, heart hammering in your neck, your head, everywhere. You looked around frantically, and you saw Sans standing at the entrance to the hall. His eyes were dim but wide with concern, and he looked you up and down from where he stood as you sighed out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Your shoulders slumped and your head hung, you were still out of breath, constantly checking the pulse in your neck to see how fast your heart was going. It was a force of habit you’d picked up when you’d started cardio training. You brought your knees closer to you, and you heard the slipper-muffled footfalls of your roommate. Sans crouched down in front of you with all the concern in the world, pulling your hands away so he could get a good look at you.

 

You must look like a mess, because he was absolutely dripping with worry.

 

He holds your hands for a moment, but lets you go and stands. You look up to him and he tries (and fails) to grin.

“hold on, i’ll get you some water, buddy.”

He doesn’t leave your eyesight, he gets you some water from the fridge and hands you a glass full. You take it, still panting a bit, and you down the entire thing in one go as he crouches down in front of you again. He waits for you to regain some breath, calm down a bit more, and speak to him about what’s going on. You know he’s worried, god you can _feel_ it like a ripple of something up your neck. You set the glass down, still waiting for that moment when the flight or flight instinct drains you fully. You hardly noticed that Sans had taken one of your hands until he spoke again to you.

“adelaide... who did this?”

You looked up at him, and you finally saw the bruises around your wrist. He held your hand as gently as he could, and you remembered that you’d been pulled forcefully back when you first tried to walk off... You shook your head.

“Just a couple of drunk guys. I took care of it.”

Your breath was still heavy, but less labored, and you no longer felt your heart wanting to leap out of your chest. You were still shaking through. You were still on edge. You tried to meet his eyes, but they were devoid of light and for a moment you felt the urge to shrink away in fear.

“where are they?”

You blinked, and he growled.

“adelaide where are they?”

 

Oh... oh jeez. You were starting to think he’s really as dangerous as he’s implied before. You can see the sharp points of his teeth, and his mouth is curled into the start of a snarl. His eyes are still empty like a normal skeleton’s, and you sit up further and hold onto his shoulders.

“Sans no it’s okay. I took care of them! I’m safe now. I’m... I’m safe now... I pepper sprayed the guy who grabbed my arm, kicked the other in the dick, and the third was too confused and drunk to give proper chase. I’m fine okay? Look at me. I’m okay. I’m safe.”

You tried to smile, but it was a strain, and you opened your arms to show that there were no cuts or scrapes. The worst you’d gotten was the bruise and a bad scare.

You didn’t notice you’d been repeating “I’m safe” out loud until Sans dropped to his knees and pulled you into a tight hug.

 

You finally broke, adrenaline gone and tears appearing instead. Oh god, that had been too close. They could have hurt you. They _wanted_ to hurt you. You were lucky. You were so. Damn. Lucky.

“you’re safe,” you heard him mutter between your tiny sobs, “i’ve got you.”

“They- they wanted to hurt me. I coulda taken them on any other day but--” you sobbed, “all they saw me for was something easy. I’m just tits and ass to them.”

He stroked your hair, running the tips of his phalanges against your scalp as you calmed down more, leaning your head against his sternum.

“I’m gonna fucking...” you took a long breath, “I’m gonna fucking _kill_ Undyne.”

“heh, i’m sure you will.”

 

You were feeling jelly legged from your running, your breathing was labored from a sore throat and sore, overworked lungs, but at least you were safe. Slowly through that silence, even your cat came out to see what was wrong, and you pulled her to your chest and stroked her fur. _This_ why you had her with you, she was a little tether to safety and reality. A soothing source in a world of stress...

“My ass isn’t even all that great,” you finally laughed weakly.

He chuckled, patting you on the head. He sat back, lights back in his sockets and looking at you sheepishly. Even with the lights off, you could see his cheekbones turning blue. He scratched the back of his head and chuckled again.

“well uh... would it be a bit too soon for me to disagree with that?”

That seemed to lighten the mood instantly, and you gave him a shocked, almost incredulous look as you too started to blush.

“Hah... thanks. I’d rather hear that from you than those other guys.”

He winked, and then he pulled you into another hug.

“just glad my badass human friend is okay.”

“I thought you said I had a nice ass!”

He chuckled and stood, pulling you up with him. He nudged the side of your head with his, still hugging you.

 

“You do. But you’re also _bad to the bone_.”

 

You groaned, your cat meowed, and you swear you could hear Papyrus complain loudly in his sleep. Your groan died, and you rested your chin on his shoulder, closing your eyes as you were rushed again with recent memories. He seemed to sense you were still distressed, and rubbed your back.

“doing alright?”

You sighed. “I’ll... be fine. I’m just spooked.”

“i can fix that. Hungry?”

“... I could use some cheer-up food right now. I’ll just get some leftovers and--”

“got somewhere better. hold tight buddy.”

Wait, was he going to teleport you? You still had Lucy in your arms!

“Sans wait I’ve still got--”

Your stomach lurched, you were plunged into darkness, and then placed back on your feet smack dab in the entrance to a bar. You blinked and froze, even as Sans let go and took a step back.

 

“--The... cat...”

 

Mrow.

 

He froze, you were still frozen, and a few monster patrons had looked up from their food and drink to look. You finally loosened up as your feline friend purred in your arms, seemingly unaffected by Sans’ teleportation. Most of the patrons went back to their stuff, but you could see the bartender arch a... brow? He was completely made of fire, but somehow you could see a sort of... eyebrow... something?? And glasses? Monsters are so weird.

Sans waved at him and laughed, “sorry grillbz. we’ll take a booth.”

The fire monster went back to cleaning dishes, and Sans got you to a booth and sat you down. You were still frazzled, but the cat managed to wriggle out of your grasp and pull you back to reality. Sans laughed awkwardly as she took a seat across from you.

“heh... sorry. impulse decision.”

You wanted to yell, but you were too tired to care. You just scratched the cat’s head and shot him a weak glare.

“Should’ve warned me, dude. She’s a bit old for magic...” You looked back at the bartender. “He’s uh, he’ll be okay with a pet in the building right?”

Mreh.

He shrugged, “probably not, s’not like fur is uncommon here.” he gestured to a booth across the way, where two dogs in full armor sat, panting and snuffling as if in full conversation. The smaller one caught your eye and started wagging his tail, tongue lolling out of his mouth. You giggled and looked away.

“Oh my god, that’s too cute.”

“heh, that’s just lesser dog, l.d for short. You and him are now officially friends ‘cuz you made eye contact.”

You smile, looking down at a menu that’d been set at the table. “Hey, any dog that wants to be my friend is more than welcome. Dogs are the best.”

Mrehhh.

You eyed your cat, who was now sniffing at the edge of your menu. You pat her back a few times and your nose crinkled with delight.

“Okay. Second best.”

“what about pancake?”

“... _third_ best.”

 

After a bit more laughter and one more look over the menu, the fire monster (Grillby? You thought you heard somebody call him Grillby as he walked by) came by to take orders. All you wanted was a burger, fries, and at LEAST two bottles of hard cider. Something greasy and full of indulgences for your poor aching soul. Grillby crackled and looked at your cat with an arched brow. You laughed, blushing a bit.

“Sorry. _Somebody_ teleported me without warning.” You shot a look at Sans, Grillby looked over to Sans, Sans just shrugged. You wanted to laugh, but you still felt bad.

“Hey I can... uh, I can take her back home if you want. I know pets usually aren’t allowed in food places and-”

Grillby placed a hand on your shoulder, and you flinched expecting to burn. He didn’t react, he must be used to it from humans, but Sans seemed to see something and leaned over towards him.

“Rough night, some drunk guys tried to jump her.”

You looked down with a guilt that you shouldn’t feel, still hearing their voices echo distantly in your memory. You heard a crackle and hiss of flame, and a whispery voice that was smooth as shea butter.

“It’s alright. Your pet is welcome here.” He nodded to you and Sans, then left, leaving you maybe still a bit red in the face.

Lucy purred and crawled into your lap, putting pressure on your sore legs with her tiny feet. You merely sighed in relief. He was cool with you... heh, cool. You chuckled nervously.

“The urge to make a “is it hot in here” pun is overwhelming.”

He laughed loud, and the cat continued to _stand in your lap like a jerk._

“oh god, so many people make that joke. he still hasn’t _warmed up_ to them. _”_

 

You snorted, the cat meowed in protest of your sudden movement, and you fell into a fit of giggles. Sans just watched you with the brightest eyes you’d ever seen, or, you _would_ have seen if you were looking up at him. When your giggling fits had subsided, you finally looked around and actually soaked in where you were. God, there were monsters _everywhere_ . Sure there were a few human patrons, but they were easily outnumbered by the dogs, cats, and who-knows-whats. When you and L.D. met eyes again, however, it was all over as the big dog bounded over to you. You would have flinched if he wasn’t so damn _fluffy._

_“Uh...”_

Sans laughed, “he’s just saying hi, buddy. have a good day at work l.d.?”

L.D. barked, and the larger of the two clambered by as well, equally silly and panting. They looked at you and down at the cat, one of them whined in curiosity.

“You can pet her,” you smiled, “her name’s Lucy. Mine’s Adelaide.” You looked at the bigger dog and smiled, “wild guess but, you’re called Greater Dog, yeah?”

He smiled and barked a big deep bark, crouching down to sniff at the cat with L.D. Oh gosh, a smiling dog. A fluffy, smiling dog. A Samoyed with legs and sentience. This is almost too much Lucy meows at them (or croaks, whatever), and they lean back with a cock of the head. You laugh, and stroke her back.

“Hold a paw out for her,” you guided, and L.D. took the bold move of reaching forward with his big fluffy paw.

Lucy stretched her neck to sniff at the paw for a moment, then butt her head against it, demanding to be pet. L.D. had a look of absolute glee on his face, as did G.D. and they both took turns petting her until they gave you pets as well. L.D. looked like he really wanted to lick your face too, but G.D. and him left before doing so, leaving some cash on the table for their meal.

 

You didn’t say a damn word until they left, but you had to cover your mouth to hold in a squeal of absolute delight.

“Holy. _SHIT. They’re adorable._ Like, this is why dog therapy is a thing, they’re so great... they’re so great.”

“aw, miss badass has a soft spot for cute fluffy things.”

“The hard rock attitude is a front,” you said with a satisfied smile. “I love lots of cute fluffy things.” You winked at him, and you could see him fighting a blush. You were a flirt, you couldn’t help it... Until it was turned on you of course.

“well, sure didn’t take you long to turn into such a _gem.”_

 

... Oh hell.

 

You blinked, your cheeks got a little hot, and his eyes lidded as a big grin grew on his face. He leaned forward, putting his chin in his hand.

“hehe, yup. you may be rough around the edges, yet you still **facet** -nate me.”

“Oh my god.” you buried your face in your hands, face hot and red. “Sans please.”

“you’re taking a lichen to my jokes and you know it.”

“One more rock pun, bonehead, and it’ll be im- **fossil** -ble for me to restrain from screaming.”

You look up ready to plead and you see his face. He’s got that same astounded, “holy shit I’m in love” expression he gave you when you literally swept him off his feet. His smile grows, and grows, and _grows_ until he starts to laugh a big, deep laugh. You hear the crackle and hiss of what you imagine is an unamused Grillby, and you nod him a thanks as he sets down your plates and drinks. Sans’ laughter settles down, but you can’t help but enjoy watching and listening to a good genuine laugh coming out of him. The way the corner of his eye sockets crinkled when he screwed them shut from smiling so hard, how his shoulders shook and his smile for once wasn’t forced or strained. Damn, what a genuine cutie.

 

_You should ask him out sometime._

 

You shot up and out of your puppy-dog gaze, shaking your head to maybe get that idea out of your head. He’s your _roommate, you’ve only known him for close to two months._

He looked at you with a curious smile, tilting his head as your cat moved off of your lap once more. You took a sip of water and looked at her. Don’t think of the cute skeleton, don’t think of the cute, handsome skeleton, dont-

“you okay there addy? you look like you didn’t realize you made a two-puns-in-one joke.”  
  
You swallowed a small lump in your throat and set your glass down with a smile. You laughed awkwardly.

“Hah, no I was totally aware, my dude. Cat just stepped on me funny like a jerk.”

Mrrrrrrrr

Did he buy it? You looked at him, he arched a brow, gave you a smile and a little wink, and grabbed the ketchup bottle on the table. “i got you, buddy.”

Good enough, you looked down at your burger with a watering mouth. Time to dig in.

 

~———————~

 

“k so what’s pepper spray?”

 

“Huh?”

 

Your meal was done by the time he spoke up again, though he was still going through the ketchup bottle like it was your second bottle of cider. He looked at you again after setting down the bottle, (this explains all the bottles in the fridge), expecting a response.

“you mentioned you used it on one of those creeps. what is it?”

Ah, that’s right! You fished it out of your jacket pocket and held it out for him to see.

“This is pepper spray. It’s self defense. One spray of this shit in your face and you’ll feel like somebody stuck you in a vat of acid.”

You saw him get tense, and you couldn’t help it, you smiled a bit. “Yeah according to people that have gotten sprayed, it feels like a sunburn being rubbed against sandpaper, and your eyes will water like somebody turned the faucets on.”

You shrugged a bit “dunno how it’d affect you, since you’re all magic, but uh.” you pocketed the object again and smiled at him, “I’m not gonna spray you unless I think you’re a direct and unavoidable threat.”

He seemed to calm down a bit, but you could see one or two beads of sweat forming on his skull. They must not have stuff like this underground.

“h-heh. and you carry that around in case of drunken assholes?”

You nod. “Monsters don’t have that sorta problem often, do they?”

He shrugged, “well i mean, monsters get drunk and might start a fight, but magic tends to make things resolved quicker.”

You nod again. Makes sense. Monsters were friendly by nature, you imagined that reflected even when they were fighting each other. You yawned and looked around, noticing there were still a couple of patrons here and there. All of them were monsters now, nocturnal ones if you had to guess. You checked your phone out of curiosity and noticed it was past midnight. You groaned, realizing why you were having to take so much time eating. You’re tired as hell. You give Sans a look, and he gives you a knowing smile and nod as you both stand. Sans waves at Grillby.

“you know the drill, grillbz.”

Grillby merely crackles and hisses in response, going back to cleaning glass mugs.

 

You pick your cat up into your arms and Sans pulls you into his. You brace yourself for the transport this time, and your stomach doesn’t lurch nearly as much as you were expecting. When you feel solid ground again, you release your cat and take a tiny step back. Sans relinquishes his hold on you and stuffs his hands in his pockets, looking down to you.

“hey... if you want, i can accompany you to and from class until you’re feelin’ safe again.”

You blink, and he chuckles nervously, “i-i mean, you’re way more than capable of kicking those humans’ asses if they appear again, but you still seem tense so, yanno-”

He gestures vaguely, but you smile and move to hug him again.

“I’d love that, bonehead. Tuesdays and Thursdays okay?”

He nodded, then nudged your head with his cheek.

“you got it, buddy.”

 

You separated the hug and held his gaze for a moment. There was a small, knowing smile between the two of you. A mutual tiredness, a little slice of understanding.

“Hey.” you started.

“hey.”

You swallowed a lump, rubbing your arm. “So um... I guess I wanted to thank you properly for like... I don’t know, giving me a chance? ‘Cuz like... I dunno, you and Papyrus always go on about me sticking my neck out for you, but damn if you haven’t been repaying it tenfold. You’ve been making sure I’m happy, technically everybody has but you especially. And um-”

You blushed, leaned up and kissed his cheek.

“Thanks. For everything. I really, _really_ mean it. It’s meant a lot.”

 

You looked down, and with a tired, awkward yawn you left the room, disappearing into your room to get some desperately needed shuteye. God, your face was so hot, you couldn’t help it. God, did you do that? That was your thank you? You went to bed with your brain and you having a long argument about it.

 

Sans just stood in the living room, cheekbones blue and a surprised expression on his face.

  
He was gonna be up a long time thinking about that little kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: You can kiss somebody without wanting to bang them. Ya nasty
> 
> Though ur boning swing and dating swing ARE two different things so


	9. Pop Art Sucks According to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go to class, get lunch with Sans, get shipped with Sans, and find out about one of his many jobs.

beep. Beep. Beep. BEEP. **BEEP.**

  
You groaned, reaching for your phone with a grumble to switch off your alarm. You rolled over with another grumble, forcing the cat who’d been napping at your feet to meow in protest and hop off the bed. You checked the time; Ten in the morning, with your class in an hour. You grumbled yet again, sliding out of bed and getting dressed. A quick run through of your hair and you meandered out into the kitchen for breakfast. Papyrus was already there, reheating leftover spaghetti that seemed to never quite run out. When does he even have the time to make more without you noticing? The supplies never seem to deplete either, how was there always spaghetti in the fridge?!

 

Papyrus noticed your entry and turned towards you with hands on his hips and a smile on his face.

“GOOD MORNING, BRIGHT HAIRED HUMAN! WOULD YOU LIKE SOME SPAGHETTI BEFORE YOU GO TO YOUR CLASS?”

You winced. Nope. Too early for his high volume voice. You shook your head, going to the fridge to get the milk jug.

“Nah, just gonna have cereal, thanks though.”

You grabbed a bowl and then reached up for your granola cereal. You growled a little as you pushed it back and out of reach. Papyrus took the initiative to grab it and hand it to you. You gave him a tired smile.

“Thanks man.”

“YOU ARE QUITE WELCOME. I KNOW IT IS HARD FOR YOU TO REACH THE HIGHER UP SHELVES. IT IS NOT SO TOUGH FOR ME AS I AM VERY TALL.”

“Yeah yeah don’t rub it in,” you joked. You started to pour out your cereal when you remembered the Keurig machine on the counter. You looked up at Papyrus, who was setting out two (two?) plates of spaghetti and nudged his arm.

“Hey, could you be a sweetheart and get the keurig machine making some coffee for me?”

“OF COURSE, HUMAN! I WOULD BE GLAD TO!”

You gave him some guidance from the counter as you ate. No, no you gotta put the mug there, it doesn’t procure its own. Just put that little container in there and press that button. No the one next to it. There you go. Thanks Papyrus. The machine whirred to life as you ate silently, still wondering what the younger skeleton was going to do with that second plate of pasta.

 

“yo.”

 

Ah. That’s what.

 

Sans looked about as tired as you did, maybe more. Insomnia’s a bitch like that, you thought, taking another bite of cereal. You nodded your head to him, and he nodded back, stifling a yawn.

“GOOD MORNING BROTHER. I HAVE MADE YOU SPAGHETTI BEFORE YOU GO OFF TO WORK.”

“heh, thanks paps.”

You eyed him as he took the plate and sat down next to you. Giving him a suspicious look. He noticed your gaze and gave you his characteristic smile.

“what. do i have something on my face?”

“Sans, did you have work on monday?”

He gave you a sheepish look, shrugging his shoulders and giving you a tiny wink.

“heh, you got me. i called in to take the day off.”

You elbowed his side lightly and laughed. “Man, you didn’t have to take off the day just to keep me company.”

“i wanted to,” he said, “you were having a rough time.”

“That appears to be a trend this week,” you grumbled, reaching for your now full coffee mug as the machine beeped its finale.

Papyrus must not have heard any of this, because he whirled around with a small gasp.

“HUMAN. ARE YOU HURT? WHAT HAPPENED?”

 

You shied away from the shouting, and Sans took the initiative to speak for you.

“nah, just a bit of a mood low. know how i have those days where i’m feelin’ really down n’ can’t even make puns? It was like that. n’ on top of that, last night some humans tried to hurt her.”

You could hear the echo of a growl at that last part, and you slowed your eating as you grew _maybe_ a little nervous, or fascinated? Too tired to really know. You almost didn’t notice Papyrus had swooped in to give you another crushing hug until the wind was knocked out of you.

“I AM SORRY THAT YOU HAVE NOT BEEN FEELING WELL, HUMAN! YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO CALL ME IF YOU ARE FEELING LIKE THAT AGAIN.”

You appreciated it, but between that and his shouting in your ear, you were realizing it was way too early and caffeine-less for you to be dealing with this. He set you down and patted you once on the head.

“I AM ALSO SORRY THAT THOSE HUMANS WERE NOT VERY NICE. I’M SURE YOU WILL HIT THEM IF THEY DO IT AGAIN THOUGH, YES?”

“Hopefully there won’t be a next time,” you sighed, grabbing your coffee and downing half of it in one go. Ahh, that’s much better. Sans seemed to tense at the idea of a next time, setting his fork down with an almost-grimace.

“yeah, there better not be.” You gave him a nervous look and saw that same hidden rage he’d shown last night. You rubbed your bruised wrist and like that he was back to normal, giving you a wink and a smile.

“cuz you’ll beat the crap out of them. dunno if scumbags like them have the money for hospital bills.”

You snorted, then finished up your breakfast before checking the time again. Ten thirty. You should leave soon. You downed the rest of your coffee and lingered for a bit until Papyrus spoke up again, noticing the time as well.

 

“HUMAN! SANS! YOU TWO SHOULD BE ON YOUR WAY OR YOU WILL BE LATE!”

You gave them a pouty look, exaggerating a sad face.

“Do I have to go?”

“‘fraid so.” Sans said, giving you a wink. “don’t worry though. your boy sans will get you there in one piece.”

“Escort mission’s tomorrow you nerd!” You laughed, hopping from your chair to grab your bag and phone. Sans chuckled and slid off his chair to follow. After asking Papyrus to feed Pancake and make sure Lucy had water, you and Sans were out the door. He offered to teleport you at least two times on the elevator ride downstairs, but you were pretty sure he didn’t know which building your lecture class was at.

 

The two of you walked and talked and you pointed out one or two shops you knew were monster friendly. He recognized most, but a little antique store and a flower shop were new to him. The walk was pleasant, if not a bit chilly (can winter hurry up and be over now?), and between a few odd stares, the two of you weren’t bothered.

“yo addy.”

“Yeah Sans?”

He looked sheepish again, maybe a bit... nervous? Oh jeez, what was on his mind. He gave you an apologetic look and eyed you.

“so um. that bad time speech i gave ya when we first met?”

You tensed, worried all the sudden. “Wh-what about it?”

“that uh... i remember seeing that pepper spray stuff next to the bed. didn’t know what it was then, but now?” he laughed awkwardly, “uh, were you gonna use that shit on me if i hung around any longer? because if you were then man, i’m seriously cross my soul sorry.”

You sighed, you wanted to joke but... “Sans, you were a stranger in my **room** in the middle of the night. If I hadn’t been so off guard it would have probably been my fist and THEN the pepper spray. It was _really fucking creepy._ ”

He coughed and chuckled weakly, scratching his skull with growing shame. “yeah... no i mean it. that was pretty uncool of me. and i’m not just sayin’ that ‘cuz i know what that pepper spray shit is now, i mean i just. dunno. people have been complete asses to paps, people have legit _hurt him,_ he’s been _-”_ He caught himself from saying something and you were sobered up now, and watching him shrug and keep his eyes on the path. “maybe i was scared? he’s all i got, yanno? not an excuse but yanno. uh... sorry i was a creep.”

 

You smiled faintly, stepping in front of him and placing your hands on his shoulders.

“It’s alright man, just warn me if you ever feel the urge to teleport in okay? You and I are friends now.” You gave him a bigger smile, and pointed to yourself. “Besides, you also got me now. So if people mess with your brother, they have to deal with me.”

You flexed your free arm and he smiled, face softening immensely into something akin to... affection? It certainly looked like it for a moment, but it was replaced with his characteristic grin before you could blink, and he ruffled your hair (much to your chagrin) and chuckled.

“thanks addy. sorry i didn’t have the **guts** to tell you sooner. you know how us skeletons are.”

You snorted and lightly punched his shoulder. “That’s my Sans.”

You could see a bit of blush on his cheeks as he scratched his cheekbone with another sheepish smile.

“heh...” he coughed and took a step back, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “uh, anyways, work’s actually a block or two back from here. text me when you’re out and we’ll get lunch.”

You gave him a slightly curious look and he rubbed the back of his neck. “yanno... if ya want to.”

You grinned and punched his shoulder again. “I’m messing with you. I’d love to! See you after class, bonehead!”

“see you after class,” he echoed, giving you another smile before turning heel and heading back the way you two had come. You went off to class, wondering where you two would even go later.

 

Eh, you had two (and then some) hours to figure it out. Time to get that paper turned in.

 

~———————~

 

**1:32 PM - You - Finally free! Meet me in front of the building?**

**1:33 PM - Sans - sure. where is it?**

**1:33 PM - You - It’s right across from that bakery with the cat themed merch. Uh, building’s gray with blue trim, about three floors high?**

**1:35 PM - Sans - i know where that bakery is. see you soon.**

  


You smiled and pocketed your phone before braving the outdoors. It was a little chillier today, you’d noticed earlier but made an effort not to complain because hey, it was early... But it hadn’t improved, and now you were just grumbly about it. You went down the stairs and out the door to the town, lost in a crowd of fellow students who were just as eager as you to get the hell out of there. It didn’t take you long to spot Sans in the outskirts of humans and monsters. It didn’t help that he was chatting idly with a purple rabbit monster with her arms full of textbooks. He caught your gaze and waved, giving the rabbit a little nod of goodbye before heading in your direction.

You met him about halfway, just out of the rush of kids but not out of sight or something. He gave you a wink and reached out to pat your head. (He’d figured out that it irritated you a bit, especially with you being mere inches shorter than him).

“good time in class?”

You smacked his phalanges away with a shrug and smile. “Eh, we just watched a movie while the professor graded our papers. I got an eighty-nine point five. So technically still an A.”

“yeah?” he grinned wider as you two started to walk. “what on?”

You shrugged again. “I did a paper on why pop art sucks and everybody who was a part of it was an insufferable, full of themselves, bag of shriveled dicks.”

He was absolutely stunned into silence for a few long moments, giving you this wide-eyed stare of surprise that turned into something akin to confused amusement.

“that bad, huh?”

You growled in frustration. “You have no idea. I just. UGH! I’ll explain why over lunch, but let me tell you right now that Andy Warhol was the fucking worst. Him and that Duchamp asshole.”

You looked around, realizing you’d been following Sans without really knowing where lunch would even be.

“So um... where _is_ lunch gonna be?”

 

He gave you this knowing smile that just made you writhe from not knowing, taking your hand into his to lead the way.

“little monster run cafe i know. heard of muffet’s?”

 

~———————~

 

There were spiders absolutely _everywhere._

 

You tried so hard not to shy away from them, this place was monster run so you knew these spiders weren’t normal... but god, they were every size and shape imaginable. Tiny little jumping spider-sized ones, ones that looked like black widows, they were everywhere and holy fuck did it make you nervous. You’d nearly jumped out of your seat when a menu was dropped down in front of you, hanging from delicate webs made by the hosts. You took it with a somewhat shaking hand and tried not to look terrified as you mulled over the menu.

Holy shit, even the food was spider themed. Spider Cider, Spider Croissants, Spider Donuts.... Even the sandwiches and baked goods had some sort of spider-something to them. You were starting to wonder if the food here was _made_ of spiders too...

 

“hey buddy. you’re lookin’ a bit pale there. doing okay?”

 

That time you _did_ jump, even though you knew it was just Sans sitting across from you. You tried to regain composure quickly as he gave you a quizzical look, tugging at your sleeve and letting out an awkward little laugh.

“Hahah... hah... I’m uh... not good around spiders, dude.” He tilted his head like this was a new concept, you swallowed a lump in your throat and continued.

“I uh, got bitten by one when I was really little, I got really sick. I mean it wasn’t the spider’s fault that a little six-year-old was messing with it, but yanno. Stuff like that... sticks?”

The spiders that had been crawling nearby seemed to pause for a moment, as if listening to what you were saying... And moments later, they were giving you space, and you could swear you could hear tiny voices whispering to each other. You felt a little bad, you _knew_ they were monsters... but boy, your skin just itched thinking of their little feet on you. You smiled at them, even if you were still a little on edge.

“Thanks guys... sorry.”

 

You were back to your menu as they scuttled about, still feeling a bit bad about it, but happier in light of the fact that they were just little monsters. Sans coughed to get your attention before you went back to the menu, and you looked up to see him... somewhat unhappy. He was smiling, sure, but those big ol’ brow bones said otherwise.

“hey um,” he spoke up finally, “sorry i didn’t warn ya. i keep forgetting that spiders freak most humans out. you’re being a real sport about it.”

Aw, he was worried about you again. You smiled at him, calming down a bit before lightly tapping him on the head with your menu.

“It’s fine. You didn’t know. I’m fine now, just worried if some of these items are made from spiders.”

“heh, only the ones with spider icons next to them. And the red hearts mean it’s magic-human food. Muffet started combining the two to get more customers.”

“Oh... damn... the spider cider was looking pretty good too.”

He chuckled and leaned back in his fancy chair. “don’t knock it ‘til you try it, sweetheart. it’s the house specialty.”

“Alright, _sweetheart_ ,” you echoed back at him with a grin. “How about you just order for me since you seem to know the place so well?”

“can do,” he chuckled, and you didn’t realize that there was a much larger spider monster approaching until she was at your table.

 

Oh thank god, at least she looked... humanoid. And pretty! She smiled at you and you saw her black fangs poking out of her mouth. Well... as long as she didn’t see you as lunch.

 

“My my, Sans! Just who is this delectable treat you’ve brought in today?”

You might have paled a little bit at being called a “treat”, but you knew better. Sans chuckled and took the menu from your hands.

“my roommate, adelaide. how’s business been, muffet?”

“It’s been delightful!” The spider-woman cooed in a silky tone. “No humans have bothered me so far, I think my employees scare them a little, ahuhuhu~”

She gave you this knowing wink and you felt another wash of embarrassment. She put two of her hands on her hips as two others whipped out a notepad and pen.

“It’s alright dearie, any friend of Sans is a friend of mine. Now what can I get you dears?”

 

“two hot spider ciders, a spider donut, and, uh- addy do you like brie?”

 

You looked up at him, then down at the menu, scruitinizing it before giving him a look.

“Were you gonna order that croissant sandwich with the chicken and apples?”

He nodded. “hehe, i just thought it looked good.”

You gave him a look and tapped him on the skull with your menu. “Well, I do like brie, good choice. So uh, yeah can you put that one down, Muffet please?”

“Of course deary,” she replied in a singsong voice, “I’ll get that order in right away. You two lovelies sit tight, okay?”

 

You both stared at her as she took your menus with her third set of hands, turning heel with another little ‘ahuhuhu’ of laughter to drop off the orders and check on the other customers. You and Sans looked at each other and both started to laugh a bit.

“Oh my god,” you giggled, “is every monster just gonna assume we’re an item right off the bat?”

Sans chuckled, “i guess they’re just excited i’m hanging out with more than my brother, and they can’t pin me to undyne or alphys since those two _are_ an item... so uh, i guess they’re gonna think we’re a thing until we correct them.” he gave you a wink and a sly smile that made you prickle a bit.

“though uh, after kissing my cheek i’m starting to wonder if they aren’t a little right. swinging the skeleton way are we? got a crush on your roommate?”

Your face got hot, your shoulders stiffened, and he gave you this smug, satisfied look that you were tempted to smack off his face. You weren’t having any of it, two could play at this game.

“Might I remind you,” you responded tensely, “that _you_ were the one who kissed me first, so I think that _you_ must swing the _human way_.”

 

He must have forgotten all about that, despite it have only been a couple of days, because his cheeks turned blue as he figured out some sort of retort. He was about to say something in return when you both heard Muffet laughing... right next to you.

 

The spider-woman was back with your spider ciders, and giving you both this look that probably had your face turning the same color of a cherry. She set down your drinks with a fanged smile.

“You two are simply _adorable._ I could eat you dearies right up.”

Sans was blue too, it was spreading over his face at that, and you both looked at her in desperation.

 

“She’s not-” “He’s not” “We’re not-”

 

“Ahuhuhu. Whatever you say~ I’ll be back with the rest soon.”

She left before either of you could protest further, leaving you embarrassed and blushing up a storm. You grabbed for your spider cider and took a drink, ignoring the fact that it probably had spiders in it. There was a long, awkward linger as the two of you looked around at anybody else but each other before Sans broke the silence.

“so uh... tell me about that andy warhol guy you were complainin’ about.”

You sighed in relief, relaxing in your seat as the two of you settled down. You took another drink of the cider (it really was good!) and sat forward to lean your elbows on the table.

 

“Alright. So let me tell you all about why pop art sucks...”

 

~———————~

 

Sans was more than happy to listen to you rant about art movements over lunch. He loved seeing you get fired up about something, that sort of passion was worth encouraging after all. And... well, he knew you a bit better now, and knew that sometimes that passion was all that kept you going.

 

Aside from a few check ins from Muffet (Sans was convinced she was doing it to get you two to finally be that “item”), lunch was undisturbed. One or two spiders had lingered near the table to listen to you rant, but all in all you two were in your own little world. Sans actually kind of enjoyed it. You were some good company, even if you were a little Undyne-ish.

Or, the more he thought of it, maybe you were a bit more like him. Sure you acted tough and punched people who annoyed you like Undyne, but he knew you were covering yourself up, he’d seen you unravel once already. He knew what it was like to put on a face and keep the darker stuff tucked away, and how much it hurt to keep everything in for so long.

He was just worried one of these days he’d break and you’d see all the shit he’s kept from you, hell, from _Papyrus_. He was worried it’d scare you, or run you off at the very least. He didn’t want that, he’d grown too attached, and the resets were too messy and complicated.

 

Neither of you noticed that you’d been done eating for a while until your phone buzzed on the table briefly. For a moment Sans couldn’t help but chuckle, remembering what your ringtone was. He watched you check a text and sigh, setting down some cash on the check that the spiders had dropped down without your knowing.

“Papyrus texted. Apparently we’re out of crickets for the ‘pancake lizard’.”

The two of you left the cafe with a wave to Muffet and went on your way, with you in the lead.

“Guess I’ll just get to the pet store. I told him that Pancake will be fine with greens today if he hasn’t been fed yet. But Papyrus probably already handled it.”

“pet store, huh?” Sans said playfully, stuffing his hands into his pockets, “well my next shift’s about to start, so i guess i should probably head back.”

He kept right in line with you though, and a moment of silence passed in the late afternoon. You gave him a look, he just smiled.

“Is it... on the way, then?”

 

“yup.”

 

There was another long silence as he followed you down the street without a word, which, he was sure you didn’t mind, but he was enjoying this. He followed you as you turned the corner to another street of shops, and now you were getting suspicious.

You figured it out when he followed you into the local pet store, and you almost punched him as he started to laugh.

“You little shit! Why didn’t you tell me?”

He had to stifle his laughter to speak, but man it was so easy to mess with her!

“hahah, nah it’s just- s’ actually my first day that they haven’t had me in the back. wanted me to know more about the animals n’ supplies before they let me loose on the floor, you know?”

“They had you in the back?” you asked a little incredulously, and Sans just shrugged, pulling off his jacket to reveal a plain shirt that you’d seen the other employees wearing now and then.

“like i said, wanted me to familiarize myself first, and with the other jobs makin’ the process a bit slower...”

He didn’t elaborate too much, his numerous jobs were his own business, even though he could see concern grow on your features. He gave you a characteristic smile and went to store his jacket under the counter.

“well, anyways, sounds like we were a wall away from meeting each other for a good while. small world right? let’s get you those crickets.”

 

A scuffle with tiny insects and a quick purchase later, and Sans was waving you goodbye as you left for home with a plastic container full of food for the beast you kept as a pet. Admittedly, the skeleton was a little sad to see you go, but it wasn’t like you two would never see each other again.

 

Well, unless Frisk went against their word that is.

 

Urgh, no, don’t even _think_ that! He shook his head and went back to checking the feed in the bird cages while a coworker handled the register. Now wasn’t the time for those thoughts, Frisk wasn’t going to reset, they _promised him_.

The sooner it got to the end of Sans’ shift, the more anxious he got to get out of there. He wanted to be home and not think about it, he hated when his mind went to places like this on a good day. It wasn’t fair! That shit was over now...  
When the store closed up, he slipped back into his jacket headed home. Somewhere in the back of his skull, something suggested that maybe, just maybe, you and him should have a talk about the whole “item” thing.

 

He considered asking about making it less of a joke and more of a reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy SHIT I reached a first 100 comments milestone!! Thank you guys so much, it really means a lot ;O;
> 
> Anyways, here's a longer chapter as a half thanks, half "how do I finish this chapter"
> 
>  
> 
> Remember if you want to ask me anything or talk to me about MRtS, you can always contact me at my [tumblr](zonbiconbi.tumblr.com)


	10. You're Having a Punny Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus and you bond, you talk about an ex, and Papyrus kicks you and Sans out for making too many jokes

As much as you enjoyed only having an evening class on Thursdays, you  _ hated _ that you’d have to go today.

You’d gone to this class on Tuesday and been assaulted and chased on the way home, and you weren’t enjoying the fact that you’d be out again with those memories present. Well... on the bright side, you’d have company to ensure there wasn’t going to be a second situation.

God, you were so grateful that Sans was looking out for you.

 

When midday rolled around, you too rolled... right out of bed and straight to the bathroom for a shower. You realized you still hadn’t had one since Undyne forced you to work out, and... oh, jeez, you had  _ more _ tomorrow after class. You better not skip again, especially if you didn’t want Undyne crashing in with dumbbells again.

Ugh, more stuff not to bother with right now, the hot water and steam was calling to you, and thankfully you knew nobody was home, both brothers at their jobs. You sang for the first time in a long while. Somehow you ended up singing nothing but Queen songs, and it was wonderful.

Shower done and new clothes donned, you checked your computer to make sure assignments were turned in, then grabbed your sketchpad and moved out to the common area.

Aside from Lucy meowing at your heels, it was quiet, peaceful even, and for once you didn’t feel bad about it. At least now there were people who were coming back to greet you, it made the place feel like... well, home.

You tossed a few crickets into Pancake’s enclosure and took a video of him on the hunt, finding entertainment in his energy and zeal. Plus, you figured Sans would be entertained to see it, after his struggle to get the damn things into a container for you. You made yourself some grilled cheese and had your lunch while working on rough comic drafts, making sure not to get any grease or cheese on the pages (Easier said than done!). All the while you were listening to the TV, occasionally glancing up to see what was playing on Cartoon Network. You never really paid attention unless it was an entertaining episode, plus you could get plenty of ideas for your assignments from watching this stuff.

At around five, Papyrus was the first through the door, immediately going to the fridge after a loud and warm greeting in your direction.

 

“HELLO HUMAN! HOW HAS YOUR DAY BEEN? HAVE YOU BEEN FEELING OKAY TODAY?”

You gave him a sweet smile as he fished out, yup,  _ more spaghetti _ . Boy that just can’t be healthy, even for a skeleton.

“Doing better today, thanks Paps. How was work?”

“WORK WAS PERFECTLY NICE! NO ANGRY HUMANS! AND I WAS VERY THOROUGH WITH ALL THE ORDERS!”

You felt bad that that was what dictated a good day. You felt a pang of guilt, knowing that people tended to be unnecessarily unkind to the tall skeleton.

“Well, if you ever catch the name of somebody who gives you trouble. Let me know and I’ll punch them.”  
You winked at him and flexed. “I’m no Undyne, but these babies will leave any bullies with a black eye.”

His eyes sparkled a bit and he giggled, hiding a tiny hint of orange on his cheeks.  
“I AM VERY FLATTERED! THOUGH I DO HOPE THAT FIGHTING WILL NOT NEED TO HAPPEN!”

You saw him fishing for something to dish out the spaghetti with, and you finally sighed and stood up, putting your hand on his to stop his pursuit.   
“Papyrus, dude, you can’t just eat spaghetti. I know you’re a skeleton so the whole food thing is probably unnecessary already but...” you grimaced, “even  _ I _ would get tired of spaghetti after a while.”  
He gasped loudly, you raised your hand to stop him from protesting your statement.  
“Lemme make you a grilled cheese okay? I’ll even heat up some tomato soup.”

“ARE YOU SURE? YOU DON’T NEED TO-”

“Papyrus, I want to.” You smiled at him and nudged his side, which really only consisted of his spine. “I’ll even show you how to make it, it’s really easy!”

His eyes sparkled again and he nodded, stepping back to allow you free reign of the kitchen. Before you started cooking you remembered you needed to send that video of the lizard to Sans, so you did a quick text with a smiley winking face before getting back to work.

You explained to him how to butter the pan and showed him the best cheese to use for the sandwich.

‘Though really, it all comes down to preference. Some people would prefer swiss or gouda over a good ol’ fashioned cheddar or american.’

‘HUMANS HAVE INVENTED SO MANY KINDS OF CHEESES!!’

Papyrus watched closely as you grilled the sandwich, as if he was learning the most important task in the universe. You actually appreciated it, even if he was hovering. You moved the pan to toss the sandwich on the other side like you would with eggs, and his eyes began to glitter again. Luckily, the process was quick, and with the soup sitting hot in the microwave, you had everything set up for him before he even had a chance to get excited.

You slid the plate to him with a satisfied smile. “There you go. Pasta substitute.”

You went back to the coffee table as he started to eat. You didn’t really need to hang around him directly to get his reaction, he’d tell you, loudly.

“WOWIE! THIS GRILLED CHEESE IS GREAT! I SHOULD REALLY LET YOU COOK MORE OFTEN!”

You giggled, waving a hand in an ‘oh you’ gesture, eyes still trained on your work. You heard him finish up and felt his sudden presence near you. You sighed a little, setting your mechanical pencil down to look up at him.

“Need something?”

“I WAS JUST ADMIRING YOUR WORK! YOU ARE VERY TALENTED.”

You shrugged and laughed. “Nah man, this is years of hard work and years of spite.”

“SPITE DOESN’T SOUND LIKE A VERY NICE MOTIVATOR.”

“Eh,” you started again as he took the chair nearby to look at your work from afar. “When people think you’re the weird art kid and tear up your stuff ‘cuz they think it’s dumb... Eh, it’s easier to spit in their faces and keep going, you know? Spite is a great motivator for the right reasons. People say I draw dumb stuff? Okay! I’m gonna keep drawing dumb stuff just because you don’t like it! Teachers say I’ll never get into art college? Well look who’s there with seventy-five percent of the tuition paid in scholarships!” you pointed at yourself aggressively. “This. Damn. Girl.”

He was silent for your little speech, saying nothing, just listening with a slight tilt of the head. When he was sure you were done, he gave you one of those little soft smiles, eye sockets crinkling at the edges.

“YOU ARE TRUE TO YOUR SOUL! I KNEW YOU WOULD BE A GREAT FRIEND.”

You smiled at him and nodded you head, not realizing what he meant by your soul. Your expression softened, even as your phone silently buzzed on the table. It was a text from sans.

**5:59 PM - Sans - lil bastards had it coming. on my way home btw**

You smiled, unlocking the phone to send a quick text back.

**6:00 PM - You - Not gonna teleport and scare the shit out of me?**

**6:01 PM - Sans - nah, if i do it too much you’ll get used to it ;)**

You snorted and sent a quick “fine” back before setting down the phone again. You noticed Papyrus shift out the corner of your eye and looked up to him. He had this big, knowing grin on his face.

“TEXTING MY BROTHER?”

“Yes...” you stiffened up a bit, “what about it?”

“YOU LIKE HIM, DON’T YOU?”

You sputtered and gaped at him, cheeks turning hot. He just took this as proof and cackled triumphantly.

“NYEHEHEHE! I KNEW IT! YOU LIKE HIM! I AM ACTUALLY QUITE SHOCKED THAT YOU TWO HAVEN’T SMOOCHED YET.”

“Papyrus, sweetheart,” you started to plead, but he was on a roll now.

“HUMAN I AM MORE SHOCKED THAT YOU TWO HAVE NOT YET GONE ON A DATE! HAVE YOU NOT ASKED? I HAVE A VERY HANDY HOW TO BOOK IF YOU NEED IT! I’LL GET IT NOW!”

“Papyrus!” you said, raising your voice in a desperate squeak. He looked at you, shocked by the tiny voice, and sat down slowly with a concerned look.

“You... do like my brother, don’t you? I’m sure he likes you a lot too.”

Oh jeez, he was using his quiet voice... Ugh, you can’t just back out of this now, can you? Guilt tripper... You rubbed the back of your neck and sighed in defeat.

“Alright alright, I  _ do _ like him. He’s a damn good friend, and he’s sweet and funny and he’s such a great big brother.” Papyrus stifled a giggle, and you blushed a bit. “And... he’s been looking out for me. He’s been more available to talk to than half the friends I had before I met you two, but--”  You shrugged, looking down at your feet.  
“Dating... isn’t my thing? I mean, I’d love to, but... the last few times I tried have ended horribly. The last one alone was the worst. Some guy I liked a few years assumed dating meant he could get in bed with me... So like... that swing thing?” He nodded. “Yeah uh, he tried to make me get on the swing when I didn’t want to. He was needy and handsy and made a fuss about it all the time.”

“so what happened to that jerk?”

You and Papyrus both jumped. Sans was leaning in the doorway to outside the apartment, an apathetic look on his face. You frowned at him, and he rolled a shoulder.

“don’t worry. only heard the stuff ‘bout your last ex. anything ya said to paps is safe.”

You sighed in relief, and gave Papyrus a look that he responded to with a nod. Your secret was safe with him... for now, you assumed.

Sans came and sat next to you, letting his head roll back against the upholstery.

“so what’s this about your ex trying to get in your pants without your permission?”

Ah, there was that saltiness again, that chilling disdain for whoever you were talking about. You shook your head and put your hands up.

“No, no he didn’t actually go  _ that _ far. He was respectful enough not to do that. He just... complained... a lot.” He raised a brow at you, and you pouted. “I punched him when I’d had enough. Haven’t seen him since. I think he dropped out.”

He seemed to be satisfied with that, though if you two  _ were _ gonna go anywhere with... the pairing up idea, you’d have to talk to him about the attitude. There was a silence, as Papyrus wasn’t sure what to say now that Sans was there, and you were lost as well for a bit as Sans mulled over what you’d told him. Finally you gave him a friendly nudge.

“Hey escort, how about you change out of the work clothes and into something decent?”

He looked down at his shirt, suddenly remembering that he was wearing his nice-cream vendor shirt... which was an  _ garish _ yellow with an equally garish red stripe. It was almost painful... almost. He rolled his eyes with a small smile and stood.

“Alright  _ mom _ .”

He didn’t even bother to walk a ten feet to get to his room. He blipped out of sight before your eyes, and Papyrus looked frustrated, straightening his back to shout again.

“SANS! DO NOT USE YOUR MAGIC SO CARELESSLY!”

“it’s fine, bro,” you could hear from his room. Sans had raised his voice to be heard. “lil stuff doesn’t do too much. i’m a big skeleton”

“ACTUALLY YOU ARE QUITE SMALL, SANS!”

“Not compared to me he isn’t” you mumbled.

“what was that?”

You jumped, Sans was walking back from changing, and giving you a smug look. He was back in his usual blue parka and basketball shorts... At least he had the decency to wear ratty sneakers instead of his fuzzy pink slippers today. You crossed your arms and scowled at him while Papyrus giggled. Sans chuckled and stood close with a wink.

“feeling salty, buddy?” His grin grew... oh no... “come on, being a small  _ fry _ isn’t that bad.”

You groaned, Papyrus screeched, the lizard started glass surfing... Okay, so maybe that last one was just a coincidence, but still.

You stood up and faced him, hands on your hips as you looked him right in the eye, glaring at him.

“Just three inches, Sans. You're not de-feet-ing me by much.”

Dead. Silence.

Sans stared at you in shock and awe, Papyrus probably nearly dropped his jaw on the floor, and even the lizard stopped his shenanigans.

Papyrus stood up, hands stiffly at his sides.

“I AM DONE. GO TO CLASS AND TAKE YOUR PUNS WITH YOU!”

“Holy shit” you laughed. You’d finally broken Papyrus. He picked up your bag and quickly put your work in it as you started to double over with Sans from laughter. That pun even caught  _ Sans _ off guard, and holy shit Papyrus was so done with you. He shoved your bag into your arms along with the jacket you’d left on the couch, moving fast to push you and Sans out the door while screeching about never getting any rest from these insufferable puns.

He managed to finally get you and Sans out the door, still screeching.

“GO AND THINK ABOUT YOUR LIFE CHOICES! GOODBYE!!”

He shut the door and you both stared at it, then each other in silence...

You both burst into laughter. Sans had to put a hand on your shoulder to keep you from falling over.

“Holy-”

“shit.” Sans finished for you. “i’ve never seen him get so worked up over puns. that was amazing.”

“I’ve never seen him move so fast,” you wheezed, “he actually got all my shit packed up in under a minute just to kick us out.” You looked down at your bare feet and only laughed louder.

“He forgot my shoes n’ socks holy fuck.”

**SLAM!!**

Your sneakers and a pair of socks were deposited outside the door. You stared at them and burst into new laughter.

“Alright alright let me-” you sat down, wiping the tears from your eyes. “Lemme put these on and let’s get outta here.”

You were smiling so hard that your cheeks started to hurt by the time you were finished and standing up. You checked your phone and realized you were a little behind schedule, so you motioned towards the hall as Sans’ laughter was reduced to little chuckles.

“Alright, let’s get out of here before his head explodes from the pun proximity.”

“yeah, i dunno if the poor guy can take any more  _ pun _ ishment.”

You could hear Papyrus’ muffled screams from inside the apartment as you both walked away towards the elevator in high spirits.

~———————~

The sun was set about halfway to the building, and the humor seemed to leave with it. You were nervous again, or at least on edge. None of the bars were really full of life yet, but you knew they would be, and with them drunken idiots looking to cause trouble. You tried to keep your eyes ahead of you, but you kept stealing glances behind you, the hairs on the back of your neck prickling whenever you saw somebody move in your periphery. It’s not like you couldn’t handle a situation, you just didn’t like being in one in the first place.

As you were starting to fret, you felt smooth, warm bone against your palm as Sans reached to hold your hand. He intertwined your fingers with yours and gave it a firm squeeze. You didn’t jump, you just looked to him with brows still furrowed from stress. He smiled softly, eyes bright.

“doing alright? i can teleport ya the rest of the way if you want.”

You squeezed back, keeping your hand in his as you kept walking.

“I’ll be fine,” you muttered, “having you around makes it less stressful.”

You could see one or two passerbys giving you looks as you continued on, but you kept your head up and kept talking to Sans, passing glares back when needed. It was true, things were way less stressful with the skeleton around to keep you company, especially since it’s late... You see some guys here and there filtering out of bars, but none of them look your way, or at least they have the smarts to do it when you can’t see them. Sans seems to notice them though, and you hear him growl and squeeze your hand again.

“these guys are testin’ my patience...”

You smiled with a bit of sympathy and elbowed him lightly.

“At least they have the common sense not to start cat calling...” your voice lowered a bit, “though uh, that’s kinda because you’re here.”

You saw his eyes grow dim and a curl of his... lip? Upper mandible? How would you even describe that sort of thing on a skeleton.

“buncha pigs.”

“Yeah well,” you started, trying to keep him from working himself up. “Pigs they may be, but you won’t ever catch me getting  _ penned  _ up with them. Men are dogs, but I promise you even if they asked nicely, I wouldn’t be throwing them any bones.”

He snorted and loosened up a bit. Ahh, puns. The cure-all for anger, sadness, and everything in between. He nudged you back with a chuckle.

“Hard to throw your bones when you’ve got all that extra shit on top of it.”

“Ah yes, guts and muscle,” you joked, “a tragedy.”

You laughed, stopping outside your destination. It was nice to have made it, the walk had felt so short.

“Admit it Sans. You’d be sad if I didn’t have pig punchin’ arms.”

He rolled his eyes and moved to face you, grabbing your other hand so that both were linked.

“‘course i am, addy. you just let me know if you ever need backup.” he gave you a wink.  “the kind of bones i throw are a bit more literal.”

You squeezed his hands then let go to pat his head. Didn’t quite work since you  _ were _ shorter (three inches is NOT that much!), but it was the thought that mattered.

“Nice innuendo, dude.”

He gave you a moment of confusion, then his cheekbones turned a little blue. You cackled and gave him a tight hug.

“I’m fucking with you, dude. I wouldn’t be surprised that any shit you can do with magic would be skeleton themed. I’ll see you after class, ‘k?”

“heh, k.” he hugged you back then pushed away with a cough. “i wont be far, text me when you’re out and i’ll walk you back.”

“Thanks Sans. See you!”

You were up the steps to the door waving at him, and you saw him waving back with a little smile on his face.

“seeya.”

  
You walked inside and went on your way, wondering why, for a moment, he looked so sad.


	11. Insomnia Is A Real Bitch Sometimes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> security guards, sandwiches, talk of night terrors, and a lot of nerdy science shit

**8:59 PM - You - omw out! Get me home so I can make myself a pb &j&d b4 I crash**

**9:00 PM - sans - pb &j and what now?**

**9:00 PM - You - Doritos of course ;0**

**9:01 PM - sans - that sounds gross**

**9:01 PM - You - it is not!!! And you have no right to judge. U eat ketchup out of the bottle ya nasty**

**9:02 PM - sans - why mustard you question my choices?**

 

“Because I _relish_ making fun of you.”

Sans was pretty sure you were expecting a jump from that, because for a moment you looked rather disappointed when he just gave you a lazy grin. Given his extended use of teleportation, you really shouldn’t be surprised, but no matter. You looked like you were in one piece, in a good mood, and ready to go home and collapse into bed.

Man, it’d been so long since Sans had felt all three of those things at the same time. Normally it was just the first or last one, and even those were nearly mutually exclusive these days.

He nodded his head towards the sidewalk.

“ready to get goin’? or would ya rather the shortcut?”

He could see you considering both options. Walking meant possibly running into those guys again, regardless of his presence there. Bit much to handle so soon, even though he was more than assured that you were capable of handling yourself... But you _would_ have to get back to walking back and forth to this class without being worried eventually. It wasn’t really an issue of going alone, it was an issue of going alone and feeling safe. Humans as a whole are a terrible species. He could see you coming to an answer after another moment or two, taking a step closer.

“Ehh, I’ll do the walk next week. I just wanna be home.”

He smiled, stepped to your side and wrapped an arm around your shoulders.

“brace yourself this time, k? it’ll lessen the pitfall feeling a bit.”

Your hand tightened on your back, you shuffled in closer to him, and he cut a pathway to home, slipping away with you without a trace.

 

~———————~

Sans was right; bracing for it made that gross feeling in your stomach a little less prevalent. There was still the feeling of falling, but it was brief and less stressful. You still ended up shoving yourself against his side the moment you were in that in-between place, but you were feeling better this time when your feet touched solid ground.

You’d still somehow managed to cling onto Sans, though it was a little less desperate this time around, seeing as you unlatched almost immediately after arrival. You wouldn’t have minded staying a bit longer, still feeling the outdoor chill sink into your skin, but you didn’t want to make things awkward again.

“Thanks,” you muttered, “seriously didn’t want to do that walk tonight. Hungry?”

He shrugged. “sure, s’long as you don’t put doritos in my pb&j.”

“Dont knock it ‘til you try it!” you laughed, shutting your mouth almost immediately after when you remembered the time.

You looked at the clock on the wall; 9:14 and no waking signs of Papyrus.Look at him, being an adult and going to bed at a reasonable hour. Was there ever a time where you were like that too?

“Lemme make the pb&js. I’ll put doritos on the side for you, you big baby.”

“yup, i’m a big baby.” he chuckled, and you gave him a look while you fetched jam out of the fridge. Of course he wouldn’t take the bait.

There wasn’t much to talk about over preparation aside from how class went, which was all in all... basic? You just presented your work alongside the other students and got feedback, and yours was positive thank you very much! When sandwiches were made, the two of you leaned across from each other in the kitchen and the conversation picked up with a new question.

 

“So what did you do while I was in class?”

He paused, shifting a bit as if uncomfortable, and you raised a brow. You took a bite, crunching on the chips you’d stuffed between the bread slices, waiting for an answer.

“heh, actually, uh.” he laughed a tiny bit, “i hung out near the building, actually.”

You swallowed then sighed, setting your food back on your plate.

“Dude didn’t we already talk about the creep-factor thing? We have security staff on campus. What if the door guard had seen you?”

“actually, she did.”

He looked a bit embarrassed, and your eyes grew wide. You were ready to chastise him but he kept going before you had the chance.

“yeah uh, she confronted me and started threatening to call police, so i just sorta explained that you’d been harassed on monday n’ i was worried?”

“... You DID tell her that we’re roommates, right?”

He nodded and you relaxed. “told her ‘bout how you came home in a near panic and how i’d offered to walk you to and from class until you feel safer n’ stuff.”

He gave you this sad smile.

“told her i was worried n’ stuff. she said i’m cool to hang out in the lobby area if i want.”

You raised a brow, grabbing your sandwich again.

“Ok. So how did you convince her that we’re roommates and you weren’t just some creep trying to get into the building?”

“paps snapped a photo of that time you literally swept me off my feet,” he winked at you, “who knew princess sans would be the one saving his own ass this time.”

You let out an undignified snort, and you could see his face light up with amusement. You tried to reel in the laughter before it got out of hand then gave him a dumb smile. He chuckled a bit at your efforts to keep it together.

“Hah... heh, sorry. My snort’s really dumb.”

“s’not botherin’ me. i think it’s cute.” He winked at you again and you blushed.

“Stupid flirty skeleton.”

“that’s me~”

You shot him a fake glare and stood up straight, poking him in the chest.

“Alright. For admitting you were being creepy again and for shameless flirting, you gotta put the chips in the sandwich now.”

He winced and gave you a pathetic look. “do i have to?”

You made a point of taking a bite of your own sandwich, crossing an arm across yourself while staring him down. He raised his hands in defeat and did as you said. You watched him for magic or sleight of hand. He’d done the whoopie cushion trick once on you a couple of weeks ago, you knew what he was capable of. But nope, he made his actions very clear, very obviously put doritos on the peanut butter and but the bread slice back on top, letting the chips crunch a little bit. He was taking his time and you rolled your eyes at his out of character reluctance.

“We’re a couple of insomniacs, sure, but I don’t have all night.”

“‘m just fuckin with ya,” he chuckled. He took a bite and you watched him for a reaction.

You were also wondering where the fuck the food even went. He literally doesn’t have a stomach. Oh wait, it’s probably _magic and invisible, ooooooo_. There was a moment of silence while he chewed and thought about it, then he nodded his head in approval.

“heh, not bad.”

You smiled triumphantly. “Told you so!”

You both laughed and chatted for a while longer, you explained the building layout for when he’s waiting on you during class, he talked about having to help Alphys at her teaching job tomorrow, and the both of you forgot for a short while what it felt like to be tired. Of course, it couldn’t last forever, and you were yawning more than you were talking, dinner finished long ago. You didn’t want to sleep, but you did, but you wanted to keep talking with the cute skeleton, _but you wanted to sleep._

“you should get to bed before you pass out, buddy.”

You blinked back to awareness, seeing Sans in front of you with his head tilted far to the side.

“Wha-” you yawned, “oh sorry, must’ve spaced out... I’ll sleep if you promise you will too.”

“no promises,” he said, “sleepin’ in general doesn’t bode well for me.”

You furrowed your brows. “You sleep plenty over the course of the day.”

“heh, well uh, sleeping at _night_ doesn’t bode well for me,” he chuckled humorously. “but... i’ll try, alright?” There was a pause and he gave you his trademark smile and wink.

“come on kid, would i ever tell a _fibula_?”

You sighed and smiled, patting him on the shoulder.

“Hey, it’s your business I guess. But if you’ll try, I’m happy. Night Sans.”

“night...”

You both went your separate ways, too tired to care about dishes. You were in your room with the cat circling your feet in no time, mulling things over. When you eventually crawled your sleepy butt into bed, you lay there for a good hour wondering just what made sleeping at night such an issue for him. It hadn’t taken you long to figure out when his smile was fake, with a few misinterpretations here and there still. He was messed up like you, but he clammed up worse than, well, a clam. Why didn’t he like to sleep at night? Even you were prone to falling asleep eventually, and he always seemed to be still asleep by the time you were up in the morning (or, occasionally, early afternoon). You mulled it over some more, concluding that he’d tell you when he felt comfortable. If it got too bad, though, you’d have to pester him about it for his own sake.

You fell asleep wondering if he was already in need of that intervention.

Unluckily, you were asleep while the cracks under his door started to pulse blue, so you wouldn’t get your answer tonight.

~———————~

Alarms aside, the next day wasn’t all too bad for you. You started preparing for the new unit in class and had a quiet lunch at the cafeteria with some friends. There were a few new monsters in the group that you chatted with, one looked like a husky dog and the other was a lizard of some sort, they were talkative and asked you for help with picking classes for next quarter, you were happy to help.

It was nice to see more monsters popping up in school. At least the people here were inclusive, mostly. You always pointed out that the assholes were usually the ones who dropped or flunked out for their attitude, which made the monsters you talked to feel a lot better. You ended up walking halfway home with the two monsters, whos names you’d discovered were Elsie and “Bud”. Bud told you all about his family of wolves and dogs, and how a good portion of them were part of the royal guard, Elsie talked about her armless cousin who was currently at Toriel’s school. Toriel was the queen, wasn’t she? You thought it was neat that she was a teacher now. Man, imagine being taught math by a _literal_ _queen._

The three of you went your separate ways eventually, and there was a spring in your step as you went home. You couldn’t wait to talk to the bone bros about your new friends! You’d met some of the royal guard dogs at Grillby’s, so maybe they’d know Bud.

Home was quiet. Papyrus was at work and Sans was asleep on the couch yet again. He looked pretty content, so you didn’t wake him for a good while... well, not until Papyrus came home and did it for you. That’s when you realized that he actually looked worse than usual. Now, while the bags under Sans’ eyes in general had always baffled you, (malleable bone? Is that even possible?), they were so obvious with his eyes open that you felt something unpleasant twinge at the base of your stomach. He was all fake smiles and basic puns, but his eyes said everything.

If he slept at all last night, it didn’t go very well.

 

Papyrus could see it too, but he chose not to point it out. The two of you shared a worried glance, then the conversation went back to normal.

Sans was gone after a while to help Alphys at her job, which left you and Papyrus alone to take care of the animals and fret.

“He looks like shit, Papyrus.”

He shook his head in dismay. “I KNOW. BUT HE REFUSES TO TALK ABOUT IT.”

“Wait is this normal? I haven’t seen him this bad the whole time you two have been here!”

Papyrus looked sad and worried, two expressions you _hated_ to see on his literal ray-of-sunshine face. He assisted you with unloading the dishwasher as he continued to talk.

“HE HAS A LOT OF NIGHTMARES... AND... he _has_ been better about it. But they still happen. And he still refuses to talk to me about them.” He looked down and stared at the dry plate in his bony hands.

“All I can do is wake him and calm him down, but I am worried it’ll get worse again.”

You’d long ago stopped placing the mugs onto their shelves to listen to him. He’d gotten quiet again, that was always a serious thing. You set down the last mug and crossed your arms.

“Nightmares? I mean that explains a little but...” you shook your head, “I’m gonna knock some sense into him for worrying you, Paps. I know he’s looking out for you, but he needs to let people look after him too.”

“ADELAIDE IT IS QUITE OKAY!” Papyrus said almost frantically, “REALLY! IT IS BETTER NOT TO PUSH HIM, IT JUST MAKES HIM TALK LESS! HE WILL OPEN UP WHEN HE IS READY.”

You hated to see Papyrus look so desperate for you to not be drastic, so you simmered down with a sigh, giving him a weak smile.

“Alright dude. I believe you... I just hope you’re right. I wish I could help.”

Papyrus put both hands on your shoulders so you were forced to hold eye contact with him.

“ADELAIDE, YOU HAVE HELPED US A LOT ALREADY BY LETTING US LIVE HERE! YOU ARE A VERY NICE HUMAN, EVEN IF YOU DO NOT LIKE EATING SPAGHETTI ALL THE TIME.”

You cracked a smile, craning your head a bit to look up at him. He smiled his big adorable smile back at you and patted your cheek.

“THAT’S MUCH BETTER. I MAY BE THE GREAT PAPYRUS, BUT YOU ARE ALSO PRETTY GREAT YOURSELF. SANS WILL OPEN UP IN TIME. YOU AND I SIMPLY MUST KEEP AN EYE OUT.”

You chuckled and he let you go, putting his hands on his hips to pose. He was a guard once upon a time after all, watching things was his specialty.

“Yup. We’ll keep our bananas peeled.”

“HUMAN! DID YOU NOT MEAN ‘EYES’?”

You gave him a grin. “Yeah, _eye_ just wanted to _see_ if you would notice.”

He narrowed his eyes and seemed to stare right into you, jaw tensing slightly.

“DON’T YOU HAVE HOMEWORK?”

You laughed and raised a hand as you left to your room.

“I do. I’m just teasing you dude. Call me out if you need help with dinner.”

“NO NEED!” He said triumphantly. “I AM ORDERING PIZZA TO CHEER SANS UP!”

“That sounds perfect! Make it a meat lovers with extra cheese and I’ll lay off the puns for the rest of the night.”

“DEAL. NOW DO YOUR HOMEWORK.”

“Okay _mom_.” you said teasingly, disappearing to your room to study and work on the next set of comics and stills.

~———————~

The rest of the night went without a hitch. Sans came back looking a bit more tired, but a little less stressed than earlier.

The pizza really was the perfect cheer up, and apparently the small skeleton’s love for meat-lover’s pizza almost rivalled your own. Sans talked about how the class went, and that kids seemed to like his theories on antigravity, especially when he used his magic to showcase levitation. Apparently Alphys was having them come up with theories and ideas for how to achieve it without the use of magic, and set them up to start research. Sans and Alphys of course had a pretty good idea of how it worked, so they’d be able to guide them if they needed help.

You were pretty impressed. You didn’t realize that Sans was a fucking scientist. He just seemed... lazy? I mean, it wasn’t like it was about appearances, but there was little to nothing that was nerdy about him. Alphys was more the part, she talked about science and magic whenever she wasn’t talking about anime, but Sans? Sans took you by surprise, and you started asking him about science stuff, utterly fascinated by this new side of him and curious to see how much knowledge was crammed into his big skull.

You and him ended up talking about astronomy and the theories about life forms outside of Earth, and eventually the conversation came back to earth and history and shit like “what wiped out dinosaurs?”. You and him debated that one for a while. You were both pretty firm on the asteroid theory, but it was the cause and effect part afterwards that you went back and forth about. Dinosaurs were your thing growing up, so this was fun for you.

He had to leave after a bit to read to Papyrus before while you washed up and put the remaining pizza in the fridge. Soon enough it was just you two and the pets, though the timer for Pancake’s lights had switched to off a while ago, so it was really just you two and the cat. That didn’t last long either, you needed to get back to work, and you had some games to catch up on now that it was the weekend.

“go play your games.” he said, looking tired again. “‘m gonna read.”

“No sleeping for you either?” you asked, and he shrugged.

“eh. i’ll be fine. i just need to fish out a new book is all.”

Your eyes lit up a bit and you rushed to your room quickly with a sudden “hold on!” to keep him where he stood. You fished around your bookcase and eventually pulled a relatively thick one from the crammed shelves. You handed the book to him and he looked at you with bewilderment.

“This one! You’ll like it. It’s like, sci-fi comedy. And you’re all about science shit.”

He looked down at the cover and chuckled.

“the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy, huh?” he flipped it over to the back. “‘don’t panic’... looks promising.”

You grinned at him. “Oh my god you’ll be in stitches, it’s hilarious! This has the whole series of books in one, you’ll love it. There’s this whole part about how flying is all about jumping towards the ground and missing.”

He chuckled again and ruffled your hair. “sounds good. see ya tomorrow?”

You reached up and patted him on the head. “See you tomorrow, nerd.”

You went your separate ways, Lucy trailing around your feet expecting to be brushed. You’d bother Sans about his sleeping habits another day, you’d promised Papyrus not to pry after all. Sans would cave eventually, right? His brother seemed to think so...

Two hours and a change to PJs later and you were done working on homework and playing your favorite mmo. Two hours after that and it was midnight and you were fighting a world event boss with about fifty other players and kicking ass. You loved your necromancer to death (heh, to death), he was perfect for these fights.

Sometime during a slight lull in the fight, you heard a knock on your door. You almost didn’t hear it over the speakers, but whoever knocked decided to knock louder as you cast an area of effect spell over the horde the boss had summoned. You shot up and stood, reluctant to get away from the game but worried about who’d be knocking at this hour.

You always kept the door cracked a bit for the cat, but you noticed she hadn’t left yet tonight. You opened the door, and Sans stood there looking exhausted and irritated as all hell. He had your book clutched tightly in his hands, no bookmarking apparent between the pages. His face softened a bit when you made eye contact and he laughed nervously.

“so uh. not trying to be creepy, but uh... adelaide, coolest human ever, totally patient with my shit and really nice to monsters, uh... can i crash on your floor?”

 **  
**  
... What?


	12. Sleepovers aren't like in the movies, folks.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Sans make fun of the neighbors, he discovers you're MMO trash, and you two both talk about family stuff before bed.
> 
> Also Sans reads all about Vogon poetry.

“Sans, why in the fresh hell do you want to sleep in my room tonight?”

You didn’t mean to stare him down like he was a nuisance, but he  _ had _ come to visit not only past midnight, but during a boss raid in your MMO. He seemed a little taken aback by your hostility, but you were pretty sure even if you hadn’t been playing video games that it’d be sorta kinda very fucking weird to have him barge in at near two in the morning. He fiddled a bit with the sleeve of his t-shirt, face turning blue.

“heh, well uh, the neighbors-”

You heard the roar of the enemy behind you and you shot back to awareness, shushing him with a finger.

“SHIT. Come in sit down and explain! I gotta get back to this!”

You flew back to the computer, furiously smashing buttons to get your (thankfully alive, simply idle) character back on his turret and firing at the boss. Sans loomed behind you utterly bewildered as you muttered a few curses and “yeah fuck you, you overgrown lizard”. He stayed quiet for a bit, just watching you in the zone. You ignored him as best as you could, people were always watching you play video games for some reason so you were used to it, but you were hating the awkward silence.

“what are you playing?”

“Online game. We’re fighting an undead dragon.”

“... we?”

“It’s an online multiplayer game, MMO?” silence... “Oh come on, there’s no way Alphys or Undyne aren’t playing  _ some _ sort of mmo. There are like five-hundred anime ones out there.”

Sans leaned against the foot of your bed and shrugged. “if they are, they aren’t telling me about it. what’s the goal?”

“Eh, there’s story quests, but other than that it’s a do-your-own-thing sorta game. I’m just getting dailies...”

“er, heh, i meant with the zombie dragon.”

 

Ah, yeah that made more sense. It was your turn to shrug.

“uh, keep its armor down (that’s what I’m doing here on the turrets), beat the shit out of the dragon, protect the laser, and make sure your friends don’t die from area of effect attacks. It’s a clusterfuck of hell and violence and I love it.”

Oh that stupid dragon was  _ almost dead _ . You wanted to rush in so badly, but alas... the armor. Sans just chuckled, watching with amusement and possibly interest too?

“s’cool. monsters didn’t make a big variety of video games, so it’s cool to see new stuff. human entertainment’s pretty cool sometimes.”

The dragon went down, chests appeared in your inventory, and you nearly whooped and hollered with excitement.

“SUCK IT, DRAGON!”

Sans was taken aback again by your shouting, brows furrowing. You sat down and calmed down quickly, moving around to get the remaining loot chest and check your rewards for the day. There was an eerie silence for a moment until you remembered the dude in your room at two AM.

“So. Why did you interrupt my favorite boss fight? My guild’s asking me what happened when I went idle.”

Sans looked a little guilty, a little annoyed, and a lot tired all the sudden, rubbing the back of his neck.

“neighbors.”

“Yeah?” You started clicking through your loot. Junk, junk, ooh that was salvageable, junk, oh hell yeah, that’ll make bank in the auction house! You looked back at him and his cheekbones were tinted blue. You raised a brow.

“Playing music? Is he watching porn with loudspeakers on full volume?”

“Worse,” he chuckled, “he’s uh... he’s getting laid pretty loudly.”

You paused for a moment then snorted.

“Hah! Did he finally get himself a girlfriend? I’m proud.”

“actually, pretty sure he got himself a boyfriend.”

“Holy. SHIT." You cackled, “rock on! Good for him. Poor guy is always on the phone with people about how his newest fling dumped him.”

You finished up your business in game and logged out, turning in your office chair to face Sans with a cheeky grin.

“Did he sound like he was having a good time?”

His face blushed bluer, your grin got wider, and you leaned in. He crossed his arms, clearly not wanting to relive recent memories.

“er... depends.”

“Ooooooon?”

Yup, now he was breaking into a smirk.

“‘pends on how many ‘fuck’s you can hear through the wall constitutes a good time. ‘cuz holy shit, i counted more than 12 before i high-tailed it out of my room.”

You burst into laughter, and even Sans ended up following suit. You wiped a tear from your eye as your sides started to ache, and you sat back in your seat and sighed contentedly.

“That room of yours is cursed, man. You know I once walked in on my last roommate in the middle of her own action?”

He stared at you with disbelief, possibly some fear, mouth gaping a bit. You shook your head.

“Don’t worry, she cleaned the room before moving out. I doubt you’ll need a blacklight.”

He laughed. “that’s nasty. must have been a bit of a shock for you.”

Pbbbh, “Dude, I’ve had to stare at so many dicks, tits, and asses in figure drawing class that it doesn’t phase me anymore. Lemme tell ya though. Her boyfriend was carrying quite a package, if you catch my drift.”

He had to think about that for about two seconds, but you knew he’d gotten the idea when his face flushed blue.

“shit, not even some sheets?”

“I heard everything, saw everything, and remember everything,” you said with a strange sense of pride. “They fell off the bed when I caught ‘em. After that I wasn’t even mad that she’d snuck him in.”

He grinned and shook his head in bewilderment.

“Bet she never tried that one again.”

“Nope!” You stretched, accidentally popping some vertebrae in your spine like they were rice krispies without warning him. Sans winced, but otherwise didn’t react. You did the same with your wrists and fingers, though that didn’t phase him nearly as much, despite how loudly your knuckles reacted. He hadn’t moved from his spot against the bed frame, so you chose to stand instead and went towards the closet.

“I’ve got a spare blanket and pillow in here for when I need to wash the sheets.”

You tossed them back at him, and he of course caught them with his magic, setting them down gently in the free space between the bed and the door to the bathroom. Everywhere else was occupied after all. Yeesh, you need to work on some of the clothes and clutter. Your eyes were wide as you watched his magic. You hadn’t ever gotten a good look at his magic, since he did it in short bursts, but there was something... pretty? About it? You were fascinated by how his left eye glowed blue like his magic. You wondered suddenly if Papyrus’ was orange like his blush.

 

He caught you staring and grinned, waggling a finger while his eye still glowed.

“didn’t anybody tell you it’s rude to stare, buddy?”

 

You flushed, caught red handed. You crossed your arms and shot your gaze away from him with a huff.

“Your magic is cool ‘s all.” you looked back at him, still blushing with embarrassment. “Anyways, you wanna sleep now? I was going to stay up a little longer and draw, but if you want to try sleeping I can clock out now.”

He shrugged, holding up the book in his hand. “i was planning on reading for a bit.”

You nodded, reaching for the sketchbook on the desk along with some pens and pencils.

“Drawing it is!”

You moved to sit on your bed, sitting down against the pillows. You had to move Lucy out of the way, but she merely moved to the foot of the bed with a unhappy beep. Sans sat down against the dresser next to your bed and opened his book to read, and for a while there was a simple, quiet peace.

~———————~

It was hardly a half hour before, somehow, you’d started drawing your skeleton friend instead of stuff that was coming from your head. He had this content look on his face as he read, sprinkled with the expressions of amusement or confusion depending on what bit he was reading. The lamp that was on the dresser made for good lighting as well... It cascaded off his skull and gave it a warm glow on one side, and an almost dramatic cast shadow on the other.

He didn’t seem to notice you looking up and down at your sketchbook towards him. In fact, he didn’t seem to be paying full attention to his book. He was looking around the room now and then at your decorations. He scanned your game posters, seemed to take a mental note at some of the figures on your desk with some hint of amusement, and, you noticed, he eventually noticed your purple plaid scarf that you kept on the wall, draped over small hooks.

“you know, i don’t really peg you as a plaid kinda girl.” He said quietly, unsure if he meant for that to be heard or not.

“You don’t peg me at all, Sansy-boy.” You winked at him.

He sputtered, you gave him an evil look, then nodded towards the scarf.

“S’my clan scarf.”

“... clan?”

“You know,” you waved your hand, “Scottish clan. I’m one hundred percent Scottish blood. Only American thing about me is I was born here”

Sans seemed to know a bit of overworld geography, because he seemed to understand what you were even talking about. Regarding clans and the United Kingdom in general. He gave you a goofy grin all the sudden.

“shouldn’t ya have an accent?”

You grinned back, slipping into that Scottish dialect without a single breath of warning.

“Of course not! I just told you was born in the states. My da’ was born in Glasgow though, and I did a couple o’ years growin’ up there myself..”

He looked shocked, you probably looked smug as all hell, this was worth all the practice and early learning your child brain had done on the dialect.

“Aye. I’m of clan Rutherford.” You switched back to the accent he recognized as you. “Adelaide Rutherford. Artist, hard rock enthusiast, and the newest in a generation of scots.”

You pondered that for a moment.

“Maybe, hm... nope, all my cousins are older. I’m still the newest here.”

“aww,” he teased, “you’re the family baby. how cute.”

You scoffed, crossing your arms with only a little indignity.

“I turn 22 in the summer, Sans.”

“yeah? so does paps, and he’s my baby brother. so that makes you my best friend, baby.”

Yup. You walked right into that one. Actually, you ran full force into it. Really went top speed, didn’t you there?

You ended up facepalming to cover up your blush.

“Why me...”

Why you indeed! Sans was on a roll with this, and he wasn’t gonna let up yet.

“because you’re the youngest. as an older brother i can tell you right now that it’s my job to make sure the youngest in the family gets teased.”

He shrugged.

“maybe my family’s always been just me and paps, but that’s always how it goes.”

“Just you and Paps?” you blurted out, curious but realizing too late that you’d put a damper on the flirty, playful mood.

Sans’ face grew solemn, and you remembered him telling you about his dad. His eyes were dim, and the smile he’d held grew strained.

“yeah,” he finally said, “just us for a while now. i mean, we got you now too i guess, just, yanno...”

He shrugged, you sobered up completely, and there was another solemn silence.

 

“hey, uh... what’s it like?”

“Hm?”

 

He scratched his skull, looking back up at your scarf with an expression you weren’t sure how to read.

“havin’ a huge family. Like... even if ya include alph n’ undyne and everybody, my family’s pretty small...”

You sat for a moment, joining him at staring up at your scarf. You tilted your head, lost in the pattern and thinking of home.

“I don’t go to a lot of the gatherings anymore, Sans, we haven’t gone to any in a few years actually. Probably because I’ve been away here.”

You smiled a bit.

“I remember them though. We even went over to Scotland once for a big gathering for home-turf highland games. I remember watching a distant relative do the caber toss and realizing then that I wanted to be able to do shit like that. There were a bunch of us, I got picked up a lot to get a good view. They saw me as one of their own all because the tartan pattern I wore was the same as theirs.”

You both came to this mutual, peaceful silence as you both thought over memories of family. Sans seemed to be content with what you’d told him, his smile easing back into something more genuine. He brought his knees up to his chest and rested his arms on them.

“that’s some monster levels of solidarity right there, buddy. doesn’t really matter if ya look different or don’t know each other well, you just sorta... dunno. you just trust ‘em. monsters are all trust... gets us hurt a lot.”

There was an edge to his voice as he finished his thoughts, a bite that was understandable, given how monsters were being treated... Still, there was something there, a sudden flash of anger and fear in his eyes that made you wonder just what he’d been through before meeting you.

You stifled a yawn, setting your sketchbooks and pens beneath your lamp so you could lie down, brows still furrowed with worry.

“Sans...” you said after a while, tired of these repetitive bouts of silence. “I wouldn’t ever hurt you...”

He looked at you suddenly, eyes less dim and more focused on you.

“addy.”

He shifted and reached out a hand for yours. You didn’t know why, but you reached back to hold it.

“addy i promise it’s never you i’m talkin’ about when i talk about humans hurting monsters. sure you’re always ready to fight, but you’d never  **hurt** any of us. The people who’ve done things... they’re  _ not _ you.”

He almost sounded like he was reassuring himself of that more than you, and you sighed, squeezing his hand before letting go.

 

“Just promise me that if I ever  _ do _ end up doing something that hurts you guys, that you’ll tell me. I love you guys with all my heart, but I’m still a human. I don’t understand everything about monsters, and sometimes I might say something without realizing how bad it is...”

You shook your head, he stared on in silence, you gave him a serious, pleading look.

“Sans. Promise me that if I ever say or do something that upsets you guys, that you’ll tell me. I’d never hurt you or Papyrus or anybody willingly, but I’m gonna make mistakes.”

He searched your eyes, you searched back, and he sighed with a tiny unwavering smile.

“no promises, but i’ll try.”

You weren’t the happiest with that answer, but it was enough. You smiled at him, shuffling around to lie on your side. You enjoyed having to look down from the bed to talk to him, even if you felt a bit guilty that he had to stay on the floor. You yawned again, resting your head into your hand.

“S’good... look, I’m... getting pretty tired. It’s getting late even for me, you know? Hit the light switches when you’re gonna sleep ok?”

“you sure? i can have the lights out now for you if you want.”

You turned to your back and waved a hand in his direction.

“It’s fine! You probably wanna keep reading. And you should, you look in need of some comedy.”

Yeah, he couldn’t argue with that. Talk of monsters and humans and how humans are, after all this time, still terrible, probably soured whatever good mood he was in before. He shrugged an okay and opened his book back up, skimming a few pages to find his bookmark. You moved a bit to fluff up your pillow and get comfy as he eventually continued reading.

 

You were getting comfortable, sinking into the sheets, but his little chuckles... oh, his cute chuckles, they kept bringing your mind back to full consciousness. Every time you thought you were fading into sleep, he’d read something funny and do his low laugh, waking you up to wonder where he was. After a while, you’d had enough and turned over to him with a sigh.

“Okay. Where are you at?”

He looked up, realizing you were still awake. He laughed nervously on instinct.

“shit, forgot you were tryin’ to sleep. Sorry.”

You shrugged. “No problem. Just tell me what part you’re at.”

“oh, uh...” he looked down at the pages, looking over the start of the chapter.

“well they just got captured by vogons, and now they’re gonna read some really crappy poetry?”

“Not just crappy poetry,” you corrected with a smug grin. “The third crappiest poetry in the known universe.”

He rolled his eyes, looking back down at the book with a shy smile. “smartass. i’ll try to reel back the laughs if they sound too fishy to you, okay?”

That pun was terrible... You shook your head, scooting closer to the edge of the bed to look down at him.

“S’more fun to hear you talk about it.”

“if ya like it that much, i can just read it out loud for ya. you’re not really sleepin’ anyways.”

You smiled and scrunched up your face at him before pondering it.

“Like you do with Papyrus right? Sure, why not. Might actually help me sleep, who knows?”

He raised a brow, you stood (well, laid) firm, and he nodded.

“k, guess i’ll go from the start of the chapter then. sure it’s ok with you?”

You nodded, he smiled and cleared his nonexistent throat, and then looked down into the pages he’d opened to.

“ _ Vogon poetry is of course the third worst in the Universe...” _

~———————~

Sometime towards the end of the next chapter, you’d finally fallen asleep. You realized now why Papyrus always look forward to this, Sans was a great orator. He gave the lines and narration this spark of life as he spoke, and you were leaning in just to listen. Eventually you’d even closed your eyes so it was just his voice. You laughed along with him at some parts, and he had to stop to chuckle and make a comment now and then.

His voice was scary levels of soothing when he read out loud. It encouraged calm and made you feel like you had nothing to worry about. Or maybe that was just how he sounded when he talked when he was genuinely in a good mood. Regardless, his voice lulled you softly to sleep.

You didn’t seem to stay asleep very long... it was about four thirty in the morning when you felt something akin to an electric shock run through your system.

It wasn’t electric shock because you weren't in pain and you weren’t dead, but it sure as hell had you reeling to alertness and sitting up. It... it tingled, it made your hairs stand on edge, it felt like you were coming to that fall on the roller coaster. You looked around, confused for a moment why you were under your sheets when you didn’t remember getting under them. That quickly became the least of your concerns when you realized the blue glow on your left. You moved to check on Sans, see if he knew what was wrong.

The blue glow was coming from him.

His eyes were closed, but the magic in his left eye was so strong, it spread without care to physical barrier, and it pulsed and fluctuate as if he wasn’t in control of it. He was still on the floor, very much asleep... But whatever was going on, it wasn’t good.

“Sans...” you whispered. “Sans are you awake? What’s going on?”

He mumbled, his breathing was becoming more ragged, though you couldn’t pick up any of what he was saying. His teeth were more obviously bared with stress, his brows going between anger and fear as his magic seemed to spread around his bunched shoulders.

He was having a nightmare, you were only just realizing that.

“Sans!” You reached down and put a hand on his head gently. “You gotta wake up.”

He growled, you heard something about “brother killer” under his breath, and your breath slowed, wondering just what he was talking about.

“Sans, Papyrus is okay. Nobody’s coming after him.”

It was then you noticed a shift in the corner of your eye, and you looked towards the closet door, now closed. Looming in the corner was... god. What was that?!

It was a skull, a bit like a dog, a bit like a dinosaur, with jutting horns and sharp teeth and glowing blue eyes fixated on you with a glow growl. It looked like a dragon’s skull, if they were real, and you went pale at the sight. It made no sudden movement, but it was most definitely looking at you.

You could see it opening its mouth slowly, and a small white energy forming in its maw.

You panicked, and you jumped down from the bed to shake the skeleton’s shoulders.

“Sans! There’s something in the room! Please wake up!!”

His eyes opened and he reached towards your chest.

His one visible eye was lit brightly with magic, and your breath hitched when you realized he was still asleep, or in that in between place before being awake. He was baring his teeth at you in a snarl, and you felt a tug through your entire chest. His left hand was sheathed in blue magic, fingers clawed as if he was pulling something from you. Oh god. Was he going to tear your heart out with the gravity magic?!

“Sans!” You pleaded. And somehow, it seemed like he heard you, because his hand relaxed.

He opened his mouth, still breathing erratically.

“Wrong... color...”

You sat still, in complete shock, fearing that if you even breathed that he’d revert to his fear and anger and kill you where you stood. Slowly, his magic dissipated, and he blinked a few times, coming to. For a moment, both sockets were empty, but the white pupils returned, bright and aware as he blinked again. He stared at you, not whatever his nightmare was making him see, and you sighed out a long breath, going slightly limp from how rigid you’d kept yourself.

 

“a-addy?” He heard the skull in the corner make a strange noise, and he shot his gaze to it with a scared gasp.

“orion! What... what are you doing here boy?”

It whined, then looked at you again with what you would think to be suspicion. You merely kept still, afraid it would come at you. He noticed your distress and waved his hand.

“i’m okay, get outta here.”

The creature whined as a shadowy orb surrounded it, and it faded away into nothing. Sans put his attention back to you, putting his hands on both of your shoulders.

“are you okay?”

You paused, mouthing ‘okay’ as if you weren't sure how to respond. Your shoulders bunched up, you were terrified, but you weren’t the one who’d summoned a dragon skull in his sleep!

“Am I okay!?” you almost shouted back, “Sans, are  _ you _ okay? What was that thing?! You were in hysterics! I thought you were going to pull my heart out of my chest or something! What sort of nightmare were you having!?”

His breathing was still heavy, but you could see the worry in his features. He looked down at the floor, and you swore you saw tears forming at the edge of his sockets.

“adelaide i’m-- fuck, i’m sorry.” he swallowed a lump in his throat. “i-i didn’t mean to scare you. or make it seem like-- like i wanted to hurt you...”

He shook, he started to crumple into a heap in front of you, and his arms lowered with an aching need to hold onto something. You let him, putting your arms around his neck and resting your chin on the top of his skull as he shook and squeezed your middle tightly.

“I’m okay,” you tried to reassure. “Papyrus is okay, everybody’s okay. It was a nightmare.”

He just tried his best to breathe, and you shifted closer to him, shifting an arm to rub his back. You weren’t always the best with this stuff, but you knew a good hug went a long way when a friend was upset.

“You wanna talk about it?”

He shook his head, mumbling a quiet no as he continued to cling and calm down.

“m’sorry...” he mumbled.

“It’s okay,” you said softly. “You and that big dragon skull scared me, that’s it. You didn’t do anything.”

“i-i’ll tell you about orion tomorrow...” his voice was hoarse, you could feel his breath on your shoulder growing more steady, but he was still getting out of his hysterics.

“Only if you want to,” you responded, pushing away from him to look him in the eyes.

He tried to mouth words, say something back. He opted to pull you in for another hug instead, muttering another tired sorry under his breath. You pressed your cheek against his with a sigh, putting your arms back around him as he mumbled another “sorry”. He was better now. You were safe, Papyrus was asleep in the other room, nobody’d come in and tried to hurt any of you, it had been a bad dream.

Still, you felt the hairs on your neck stand up, realizing that if you hadn’t moved to shake sans awake... well, whatever that skull was, it was going to kill you in your own bed.

You hardly realized that you were falling back asleep until the both of you slumped against the short dresser, still clinging to each other like it was life or death. He’d stopped shaking long ago, and you didn’t dare move in fear of him panicking again.

You didn’t want him to go. He didn’t want you to go. So you stayed there with him the whole night, your head tucked under his chin as he tried and failed not to slip back into sleep.

 

He didn’t have any nightmares for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy belated towel day, guys.
> 
> also yes his favorite blaster's name is Orion. All of the blasters are named after constellations ;O


	13. Meet the Blasters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get a lil snuggly with Sans, Sans introduces you to Orion, then he asks you a very important question.

Sans, surprisingly enough, was the first one to wake up the next morning.

 

For a moment, he forgot where he was, realizing that he wasn't his room. On the bright side, that meant no resets happened over the night, and somehow that was more a relief than anything. He groggily woke himself, memories flooding in as he shifted slightly.

He'd had a nightmare. Frisk had... No, not Frisk, some creature wearing their skin. They’d killed Papyrus, they'd stomped on his skull and _laughed_ . Then they killed him as he tried to obliterate the demon. Sans wasn't sure which nightmares were worse, the ones where he died, or the ones when _it_ did a reset just to torment him further.

He remembered you staring at him like he was, well, a monster. He remembered your soul color waking him up and Orion’s worried stare. He'd almost cried, but you never left him.

 

He knew you were scared, but you stayed anyways.

 

And there you were, head tucked under his chin, still fast asleep. He stayed there and just listened to you for a while. The slow steady breathing he could feel on his sternum was warm and pleasant. This was... well, comfortable, nice, and somehow familiar. The most moving he did for a while was to hug onto you tighter and try to nap for _maybe_ ten more minutes to have this last.

Lord knows he needed it after last night.

Still, he just wasn’t falling asleep. Strange, usually he felt worse in the morning. He’d gotten... let’s see. You must have woken him somewhere around five in the morning... and it was... uh. He craned his neck as best he could, and spotted an electric clock on the desk. It was about ten thirty now. What was that, about five, nearly six hours? Was this what it felt like to actually get a somewhat decent night’s sleep?

The realization of time finally dawned on him. Ugh... he had to be to work at eleven, nobody else was manning the hot dog stand today.

Was Sans comfortable? Absolutely. Did he want to wake you up so he could get up and get ready? No. But did he have a life and job to get to? Well, that was negotiable. **  
**

 

 **No!** That little voice (strangely, in Papyrus’ vocal range) shouted in his skull. Ya gotta work! Ya gotta be able to afford rent and food and gas money for Papyrus’ car and-

Ok, ok! Sans grumbled quietly, squeezing you tight before moving away to try and get you to let go of him. You made a tiny, unhappy noise when he moved from of you, shifting to find the heat source you’d suddenly lost. Sans smiled and shook your shoulder softly.

 

“addy,” he said, and you groaned, unwilling to wake. “addy come on buddy, i gotta get to work.”

You protested groggily, starting to wake as Sans’ smile grew. You weren’t exactly pristine when waking up, but that just made you cuter to him. Your hair was a bit of a mess, eyes still a little baggy, and you kept scrunching up your face like you smelled something awful. He chuckled and shook you a little harder.

“don't make me ask ya twice, buddy.”

 

You blinked slowly and came to, realizing how close you were to him. Oh man, you must not have realized you’d fallen asleep with the both of you clinging to each other. Your face turned a little red, and you bunched your shoulders sheepishly.

“Oh... morning... Sorry, didn’t mean to get all snuggly with you dude.”

He chuckled, “don’t worry about it. s’not like we haven’t napped together before. besides--”

He shrugged himself out from your hold and sat up to stretch.

“ya helped me get at least a few hours of decent sleep.”

 

You sat up and moved your arms around, taking extra care with your wrists. Sans was curious about that, he sometimes saw Alphys doing the same when she was drawing doujins, but he’d never cared to ask why.

“Ugh,” you said, “my neck feels like shit. Why’d I sleep on the floor? Gotta crack it okay?”  
He nodded, but he still winced and tensed at the more than unpleasant noise. He _hated_ the noise, he always associated it with Papyrus when he-- nope. Don’t even think about it. He kept his eyes on you to ground himself in the present, and you returned his look with a concerned expression.  
“Honestly I was worried you’d have another nightmare if I left you alone.”

“Yeah,” he responded tiredly, “not gonna lie but i probably would have... i mean, it was bad enough that i summoned my favorite blaster.”

You seemed to shiver at the thought of that, and he dreaded to hear about how bad things had gotten before you’d woken him up. You stood up, then turned to pull him up as well. You put a hand on his shoulder and looked him dead in the eyes, brows still knit. He was really worried about that, hell he could feel a bead of sweat forming on his skull. Were you going to ask him and Papyrus to leave because he’d almost attacked you? Did his powers scare you? Did--

 

“You okay Sans? You were really shook up last night, like full blown panic levels of shaken. You don’t have to tell me about that floating skull thing if it’s just gonna bring it up.”

 

He shook his head, clearing his mind of the things he’d expected you to say. He put on a weak smile, still not energetic enough to even put on a fake one. He sighed.

“i’m... i’m not okay adelaide... but i’m better. i’m doing better,” he muttered, slumping a little. “‘m sorry. i wish things hadn’t gone like that.”  
He rubbed his arm solemnly, and then he looked back up at you with a warmer, softer smile. Something he didn’t have to force.  
“but you helped, like, a lot. so, uh, you know--” Oh hell.  
He reached forward and pulled you in for another tight hug, squeezing your middle like you’d fall apart otherwise. He nuzzled your cheek gently with his teeth, unsure of if it was okay for him to give you a small kiss there or not.  
“thanks,” he breathed, relinquishing his hold on you.

You were a little red in the cheeks, he was a little blue in the cheeks, and he quickly covered it up with his usual demeanor when he saw it was now five minutes to eleven. He cursed under his breath and put his usual smile on.

“anyways, i better get dressed n’ to work. i’ll tell ya about orion later okay?”

 

“Oh-” you snapped back to reality, giving him a more enthusiastic smile. “Yeah! You go sell those ‘dogs, dude. we’ll ketchup later.”

 

He rolled his eyes and ruffled your already messy hair.

“not bad, i mustard admit.” He winked at you. “k, see ya later.”

He stepped into a doorway to his room, leaving you alone in yours for the time being. He changed quickly, (though that really just meant changing into day shorts and putting his jacket back on). He teleported again to his vendor booth with less than a minute to spare, and that was that.

 

As for work, it was, thankfully, very busy today. It was a high tourist day at the park apparently, likely because of the warming weather and new businesses making themselves known in the city. It kept Sans on his feet, and he hardly got any chances for a good nap until near the end of his shift. Still, he managed to keep one eye open just in case, though usually by now people weren’t really interested in hot dogs anyways.

When it hit five, Sans let out a relieved sigh, happy to get home. He’d spent half the day thinking of you, fretting that you’d still push him away when he’d eventually explain the blasters to you. More than anything, he felt a strange tug in his soul to get close to you again. He was comfortable there, _hell,_ he hadn’t had any nightmares after you’d come to calm him down. That-- that had to mean something, right?

He was definitely going to ask you out on a date or something, the awkwardness was getting just a little unbearable.

 

With that determination in mind, he opened a doorway to get home as soon as possible. He’d pull you aside in case you were talking to Papyrus, explain himself and see if you were interested in a date. He’d pay and everything, he just wanted _you_ to be happy, since you’d been putting in a lot of effort to keep him in one emotional piece.

He saw you on the couch with Papyrus, laughing at something going on on your laptop. He was about to step in to chat with you when you spoke up.

“Mom, come on, you’re gonna break him if you keep those jokes up.”

 

Oh... well... fuck.

 

You finally noticed Sans standing at the door and waved him over, and he tried his best to smile despite the situation really going against him. Yeah, like he was gonna ask you out in front of your mother.

“Hey Sans! I was just talking about you to mom and dad-”

_And father..._

 

He shrugged his shoulders, putting on a trademark smile.

“yeah?”

 

“Yeah!” you beamed back at him, motioning for him to join you and his brother on the couch.

“Get over here bonehead, they wanna meet _both_ of my roommates.”

 

Well, this was going to be one hell of a conversation, wasn’t it?

 

~———————~

 

Sans stood there in the doorway for a long while, surprised and disheartened. There went his plans for the rest of the day. He was disappointed, but he worked quickly to cover it up with a smirk. He started heading into the common area and raised his brow at you and and Papyrus.

“so your parents don’t have problems with you rooming with a couple of guys, then? hi by the way.”

 

He leaned against the couch just out of view of the laptop’s camera and you rolled your eyes, gesturing for him to actually sit next to you.

“If they had a problem they would’ve told me. Now get in camera! We’re on a video call.”

 

He tilted his head. Video calls? Monsters didn’t even have that yet. He’d have to mention it to Alphys. He moved to plop down next to you. He and your folks had a moment to hold eye contact before he gave his trademark smile and waved at them. He already could see the resemblance, it was pretty neat.

“sup, sounds like my bro and your kid have mentioned me already.”

“Your brother was just talking about you, actually!” Your mother spoke up. She had your chocolate brown hair and a charming smile. Your father was out of camera at the moment, though Sans figured he’d be back eventually.

“So, Sans and Papyrus? Somebody had a sense of humor when naming you two.”

“Which font for Sans, Cameron?” Your father piped up from not too far away, “There’s two types.”

 

“Oh he’s definitely a _comic,”_ you laughed, “he drives poor Papyrus nuts with the puns.”

“that’s me,” Sans chuckled, “though as far as driving him nuts, i tend to steer him into a smile anyways.”

“SANS NO!!!”

“sans yes."

 

At the very least, the usual punny banter with Papyrus was making the conversation a little easier on Sans. Normally he wouldn’t be this out of sorts, but, well, his plans _did_ get thrown out the window without warning. Still, he was enjoying seeing what sort of people raised you. Finally, your dad sat down in view of the camera, finally getting a good look at you and your roommates. He gave Sans a look for a moment as if trying to figure him out, then smiled.

“Good to finally see you two.” He leaned in carefully, and Sans was inclined to sit back, even though he didn’t.

“You’re keeping my girl out of trouble, right?”

Sans nodded, this man had the same sort of look that his own dad had given people when he was trying to get an honest reaction from them. He knew the spiel, he was just being a father, he figured.

“of course. i mean, it’s kinda hard when she runs off and starts stuff, but she’s pretty tough.”

“YES! IN FACT THE DAY AFTER WE FIRST MET SHE PUNCHED A HUMAN IN THE STOMACH WHEN HE WAS SAYING UNKIND THINGS ABOUT MY BROTHER AND I!” Papyrus said.

He said it with pride and admiration, but you were clearly wincing about that. Papyrus put a hand over his mouth when he realized he’d let that slip, and Sans could see your mother’s face go somewhat stern.

 

“Adelaide...”

 

“Mom it’s okay! He was saying some seriously messed up shit to him. And I promise I didn’t just go up and punch him in the face!”

 

“yeah,” sans chuckled, “you tried telling him off and he almost slapped you.” his eyes went towards the screen and he winked at your folks.

“dont worry, addy’s parents. she didn’t resort to violence until she needed to.”

“I bet he left you three alone after that!” barked your father in a laugh.

For a moment Cameron (that’s what your dad called her earlier, right?) looked like she was going to scold him, even though she was clearly as amused about it now that she had full context.

Sans nodded with a growing grin.

“yeah, a punch to the gut like that’s probably hard to forget. i doubt he has the _stomach_ to come at any of us again.”

 

He could see a glint in your mother’s eyes that could mean only one thing.

“Yes I imagine he’s still _digesting_ that it even happened!” 

Papyrus wailed in agony while you and Sans burst into laugher. He wiped a tear forming at the edge of a socket and tried to hold back laughter. Oh-- Oh man. He just _knew_ your appreciation for a good pun wasn’t just you trying to tolerate him. Oh yeah, he liked your folks already, that’s for sure. And they hadn’t made any shitty comments about monsters yet. That was definitely a bonus.

 

“heh, good one ma’am. but other than a few thrown punches she’s been doing fine, i promise. goes to class on time, helps paps with cooking, goes to the gym with undyne, eats her veggies.”

You groaned and he reached over to ruffle your hair, which of course got him a light shove away. You shot him a look and he just winked at you with his usual smug grin.

“she’s a good kid.”

You rolled your eyes and Papyrus spoke up.

“YES SHE IS A VERY GOOD HUMAN! AND YOU TWO ARE VERY GOOD HUMANS AS WELL FOR RAISING HER! SHE MAY BE VERY HEADSTRONG, BUT IT HAS HELPED HER TO BE SO, ESPECIALLY WHEN DEALING WITH LESS GOOD HUMANS!”

 

“Yes, well,” Cameron started, “She’s always been persistent, you just can’t tell her that she can’t do something.”

 

“That’s because nobody tells me what I can or can’t do.” You huffed, puffing up your chest with pride. “I’m the only one that gets that privilege.”

“And us,” your father chimed in. You rolled your eyes and grinned.

“Yes and you. _Sometimes._ Who was the one who said I couldn’t lift as much as cousin Sean?”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t,” he corrected, “I said it’d be a long time before you could. How’s that going by the way?”

“Two-hundred and twenty pounds on the leg press, and uh... Sans how much do you weigh again?”

He raised a brow. “didn’t your mother teach you not to ask a skeleton about their weight?”

He paused, waiting for you to look guilty, then broke the smile with a short chuckle.

“just kidding, buddy. ’m well over two-hundred. s’been a good while since i last checked.”

“Thanks!” you beamed at him, then went back to the camera and laptop.

 

“Hear that dad? Over two-hundred. Hah! I swept him off his feet on tuesday when he said I couldn’t.”

“Figuratively or literally?” Cameron teased, and your shoulders bunched.

Papyrus elbowed your side with little chuckles and Sans tried so fucking hard not to say “both” out loud. You waved for Papyrus to stop nudging you and rolled your eyes. Actually, Sans was curious about how you’d respond to that.

“Literally, mom. Look I can’t speak for the numbskull about what he thought about it, other than I damn well told him I’d be able to lift him.”

Hah, well, at least you didn’t try to push the mushy stuff onto him. Nice work. He nodded and put an arm around you to give you a good shake.

“just don’t forget that undyne started it. i just egged you on.”

 

Oh Undyne started it. And she _knew_ that you were gonna collapse under his weight. Too bad for her it didn’t turn out as “sexy like” as she wanted, huh? Besides, the damage was done the moment you picked him up into your arms. _That_ was seriously impressive. He probably fell right there and then, even. He wasn’t quite sure...

He was so lost in thought that he missed a good chunk of conversation, and only came back to when Papyrus was addressing him directly.

 

“SANS YOU LAZYBONES! NOW ISN’T A TIME FOR A NAP!”

“huh?” he shook his head and looked up. “sorry paps. must be a bit tired from work.”

“YOU CAN NAP LATER!! ADELAIDE’S HUMAN PARENTS WISH TO TALK TO YOU BEFORE THEY LEAVE!”

“oh! uh, sure, what’s up?”

 

They were both looking right at him, or well, the screen equivalent on their end.

“We just wanted to say thanks for keeping an eye out for Adelaide. It was very nice meeting you and your brother,” Cameron said.

Your father spoke next.

“Yes you two sound like you keep her on her toes, which is what she needs at that school, it’s very difficult from what I’ve heard.” He checked his watch then back to the screen.

“Anyways, I forgot to introduce myself but I’m Stuart. You two keep an eye on her for us, okay?”

 

“not a problem, sir,” Sans nodded, “no more punching strangers for her.”

 

“Sans...” You groaned.

 

“okay okay no more punching people unless they’re jerks. Better?”

 

“That works,” Stuart laughed, “It was nice meeting you two. We have to head out now. Love you Addy!”

“Love you too dad,” you said back, blowing a silly kiss at the screen. “Love you mom, bye!”

“Goodbye Adelaide.”

 

The call hung up and you sat back, still sandwiched between Sans and his brother. You gave Sans a look and nudged his side playfully.

“So. My parents. Not bad for humans, right?”

“not bad for humans,” Sans agreed. “didn’t even ask about undyne. they seen her already?”

“I got a selfie with her on day two of training so I could show off my progress to them. That’s probably part of why they’re okay with letting me stay.”

“letting you stay?” He asked, suddenly growing suspicious.

“They were just worried,” you defended. “They didn’t have a problem with monsters at all, actually dad was pretty excited, he’s a biologist.”

He raised a brow and you continued.

“They just, I dunno. They know me, I know me, you two know me, I’m prone to getting in fights with jerks. They were just worried I’d get hurt or get in over my head defending you guys. I mean, it’s not the uh, smartest way to think, but I get the concern.”

Sans sat there, arm still around you with a patient look. Yeah it still wasn’t sounding too great, and it was clear that you were trying to explain things in the least shitty way possible. This is definitely what you meant by good humans making mistakes too.

“THEY ARE YOUR PARENTS,” Papyrus finally said. “THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO CARE FOR YOUR WELL BEING! PERHAPS THEIR CONCERNS WERE A LITTLE UNFAIR, BUT CERTAINLY NOT UNWARRANTED!”

 

You nodded, “Yeah like... I dunno. They wouldn’t have actually pulled me out of school, I’d’ve stayed anyways because I’m way too stubborn. But like. I guess they didn’t want to see me hurt. ‘Course now that they know three of my monster friends are super tough and looking out for me, they’re not so worried, you know! You guys can hold me back from starting fights and stuff.”

Sans ended up nodding along with that. She did have a point. It still wasn’t perfect, but seeing how she already behaved when confronting people, well.

Humans already weren’t being nice to monsters, it wasn’t like they were going to change the minds or their tactics because of one of their own going against them.

 

He’d seen a few humans get hurt before just to help a bullied monster, he’d been attacked once or twice himself, though those people learned quickly that it was a very bad idea. But you... you didn’t give up. You’d just keep going until you were unconscious or worse.  
He shook slightly at the image of other humans chasing you down like they did to monsters. He thought of bruises and shattered bones and a broken woman in your place who had only wanted things to be better for people like him.

Oh hell no. He wasn’t going to let shit like that happen to you. It’d break his heart. No. He’d fucking send Orion after anybody that _dared_ to lay a finger on you. He’d make them regret so much as looking at you funny, for looking at _any of you_ funny. He’d-- he’d...

 

“Earth to Sans! You there?”

 

Sans blinked, noticing that you’d been snapping your fingers in front of his face. He shooked his head and looked over to you. Both you and Papyrus were giving him this concerned look, as if he'd just had another panic attack or something...  
It took him another solid few seconds to realize that he’d bunched himself stiff and started to shiver very slightly. He tensed his shoulders and sighed, rubbing the back of his somewhat aching neck.

“yeah, sans back to earth, everything’s good. sorry about that.”

“SANS YOU DON’T LOOK TOO WELL!” Papyrus was two second from scolding him to take better care of himself, and Sans just shrugged it off.

“‘m fine. mind went to human monster stuff and it wasn’t fun.”

Sans looked over to you and gave you a nod.

“you still need to properly meet orion right? let’s get that done with.”

Papyrus looked shocked.

“WHEN DID SHE MEET ONE OF YOUR BLASTERS, SANS?? WAS IT... ANOTHER NIGHTMARE?”

 

Sans winced, you winced, Papyrus looked more worried about it. Sans had to simply nod and go along with the questions.

“yeah paps. she must’ve seen the magic and worried. probably wasn’t expecting it is all.”

It was a partial truth, he just didn’t want to go into the fact that he’d been in your room due to loud neighbors. That was just a whole extra can of worms he didn’t want to get into for both your sake and Papyrus’. Well, especially Papyrus.

Sans stood, pulling you with him and motioning towards his room.

“probably safer to bring him out away from big open windows. that ok?”

“IT IS FINE. I MUST START PREPARING DINNER! ADELAIDE’S MOTHER SENT ME A RECIPE FOR LASAGNA YOU MAKE IN A PAN!”

“sounds great paps,” Sans chuckled. He gave your hand a tug and pulled you along away from the inevitable commotion that came with Papyrus’ cooking.

He was at the door first, motioning for you to follow him in.

 

This was a really stupid waste of magic, but he needed you to know about the blasters, about his magic, he wanted you to be prepared for the inevitable next time.

 

~———————~

 

Wellp. Sans’ room was an utter, total, nuclear disaster of a room.

 

It was dark, it was cluttered, and it overall looked just plain bad. There was a pile of socks in the corner, there was an unused treadmill covered with shirts and shorts and other various laundry items. His desk was covered in papers you didn’t even want to try to discern, and he had the curtains closed so that the only light in the room came from an old looking lamp in the corner.

There were occasional trash objects on the floor like empty bag chips or granola bar wrappers. Eugh. No, this was gross. Why were guys gross!?

 

“if your face contorts any more then i might have to call the circus on you.”

You looked up and furrowed your brows at him.

“Dude your room is gross.”

 

He grunted noncommittally and shoved some trash out of the way with his foot to give you more space. Regardless of the motion, it was still gross as hell. Note to self to get a vacuum and trash can in here at some point! You were starting to wonder how often these nightmares were, and how they affected him... He was waiting for you to give him the okay, watching you like he was worried you’d run off. You gave him a nod and moved to stand across from him.

“Okay. Let’s meet your terrifying dragon skull thing.” You said.

 

He looked hesitant at first, but he controlled his breathing and let his magic swirl into his left eye. He looked at you, waiting for another okay. You nodded and he turned to face away from you slightly. A dark orb of pure magic formed, and from it the skull from last night faded into view, as if coming out of shadows that weren’t even there.

And there, floating in the middle of the room, was a skull that was at least seven feet from nose tip to the end of its horns. It looked at Sans and made a high pitched whine, something you’d compare to a noise of joy if you had to choose. Sans gave him a calm smile, and then looked to you.

The skull looked at you and emitted a half growl, but you could see recognition in its rigid features. There was no white orb forming in its mouth, no motion to attack, it was just there. It looked to Sans and whined, and Sans gave it a knowing nod.

“she’s cool, orion. she’s a friend. helped me feel safe, remember?”

It whined again then looked at you.

Orion floated closer to you, and you took a step back in caution. It noticed this and let out a low groan, tilting its head slowly.

“its alright addy. ‘s just curious. try reachin’ out.”

 

Okay... Okay chill, calm down. Just “How to Train Your Dragon” this shit. Hold your hand out Adelaide, let them come to you... You didn’t close your eyes, you just looked down at your feet as you kept your palm out towards the beast. Just breathe... easy... it’s not gonna attack you, Sans said it wouldn’t.

You felt the bumps of bone and teeth against your palm, and you looked back up at Orion in shock.

There it was, pressing its closed mouth against your hand, groaning quietly as it tilted its head at you. All the tension in your body careened out and you let out a long relieved sigh. Orion floated back, opened its jaws and clacked them together with a happier sounding bark of a noise. You cracked a smile as it moved in to move around you, inspecting you up and down with apt curiosity and interest. You started to laugh as it clacked its jaws together a few more times, and suddenly it moved in a way that caused you to fall on your ass. Well, you’d been expecting hardwood and trash, but somehow the edge of Sans’ bed ended up being your destination.

“Damn!” you laughed, “Easy there!”

It clacked its jaws again then settled on your lap, eyeing you with a look that said, no, DEMANDED, that you needed to pet it right now.

“aw, he likes you.”

 

You were still a little nervous, but you couldn’t help but stroke the smooth top of its skull in fascination. It grumbled in satisfaction and sat there, allowing you to continue.

“Yeah,” you said, still somewhat short on breath, “he uh... may have given me three heart attacks now, but it’s good to know he won’t eat me?”

Sans sat down next to you, just out of the way of Orion and patted its nose affectionately.

“nah, he’s more of a blasting type, they all are.”

“ _All?!”_ You said, slowing your hand to stare over at him. He just nodded. He’d promised an explanation after all.

“yeah, all. so uh. i’ve got about... seven, maybe eight of these guys on magical speed dial? i think they live in the same place as that in between whenever i teleport, i’m honestly not sure how i’d even go about testing that theory safely.”

He patted the creature’s nose again then rested both hands in his lap.

“so you’ve met orion, but there’s also hercules, scorpio, canis, dipper, cetus, draco, and perseus.”

He nodded to Orion.

“they’re called gaster blasters, or at least that’s what i call them.”

 

“You named them after constellations,” you breathed, feeling a sudden pang of sympathy for the skeleton. “Did you name them after coming to the surface?”

He shook his head. “no. but we had a lot of books in the underground. some were pre-war, some fell down from the overworld.”

He looked up at the ceiling with a wistful sigh.

“i always wanted to see the stars, to see _real_ sky. named the blasters after ‘em for good luck, i guess. i needed a way to remind myself that maybe one day we’d be free.”

 

Your expression softened, and you reached a free hand out to place on his arm.

“And now you’re free, right? I mean, it’s not what you expected, but it’s worth it for the sky, right?”

 

“yeah,” he chuckled, “it is. it’s worth it for a lot of things.”

 

You looked down at Orion and smiled, moving fingers along one of its great horns, feeling the bumps and texture of the material.

“How’d you find these guys?”

The sweet moment was once again solemn, and Sans’ eyes grew dim.

“well... remember that lab accident?”

He waited, you nodded, he continued.

“they just sorta... appeared. i remember it a little too well. monster dust all around me, dad cast across the void like loose sand, and me, barely alive from the blast, staring up at these floating skulls.”

He shifted uncomfortably just thinking about it, but he continued.

“papyrus knows the whole story. they followed me home, i didn’t have the energy to send them back... didn’t even know i could do anything about them. dad had been theorizing about their existence for a while... damn accident wasn’t even testing those theories. yet there they were.”

Sans shook his head and patted Orion’s nose one more time before leaning back a bit.

“still don’t know if they were created in the blast, or if the blast caused some sort of magical awakening that let me summon them, or if they were there all along and the blast just revealed them. dunno if i’ll ever know. but here they are.”

 

There was a pregnant moment of silence that seemed to sink into your skin, but still, you’d listened, you’d digested... and suddenly you were starting to understand one reason that his room was a disaster. Stuff like that, man... it’d ruin you. You nudged Orion with your leg and he lifted away, understanding that you wished to move.

The first thing you did was scoot over and wrap your arms around the big skeleton.

“Sorry,” you muttered, “Didn’t mean to make you think of shit like that... Your weird dragon skull buddies are amazing.”

He smiled and leaned into your embrace, resting his cheekbone against the top of your head. He patted your arm as if you needed the consoling here.

“s’okay. happened a long time ago... just old memories.”

 

You two sat like that for a moment, the only break caused by Orion’s sad whine. Sans looked up to him and nodded his head, activating his magic to send the skull back.

“you earned your break buddy, good job.”

It crooned and faded away into another sphere of black, disappearing as if it never existed.

You watched the space where it once was for a while, perhaps a little disappointed that you didn’t give it a proper study first. You sat there for a while longer with him, listening to the hum of magic echoing subtly through Sans’ body. The magic only hummed like this when he used it, and It faded away with each breath until it was gone, or at the very least mute.

You and Sans locked eyes and he gave you a little smile, motioning his head towards the door. You nodded solemnly, not ready to let go in fear that he’d fall apart. Oh you only knew half of the things that he’d gone through...

 

“Yeah,” you finally said, giving up your hold of him. “We better make sure Papyrus doesn’t need help with the new recipe.”

 

You stood up and started to walk, Sans on your heels. However, to your surprise, he grabbed your hand and stopped you before you could reach the doorknob. You looked to him with slight apprehension, but all you saw was concern and something else you couldn’t figure out.

“addy, uh, before we go out there i wanna ask you something.”

Your brows furrowed a bit in confusion, but you let him continue regardless. You trusted Sans, and he sure as hell was starting to trust you a lot too.

“so, uh... so i like you, right?” his cheekbones dusted blue, and he looked away for a moment to scratch his skull.

“and it seems like you like me, or at least i hope you do. but uh, anyways.

He coughed, then placed his other hand over the one he already held.

“grillby’s. next saturday at seven?”

 

Oh... Oh jeez. He was asking you out on a date.

 

Your face was getting hot and you laughed softly. He looked disheartened for the slightest of moments until you moved to pat him gently on the head.

“I’d love to, bonehead.”

He sighed, like asking you that question was a huge weight off his shoulders.

“k. cool. awesome.”

 

You opened the door and walked out together, feeling a hell of a lot giddy than you were when you first walked in there. Your cheeks were a little hot, sure, but the idea of dating the small (well, not small to you) skeleton made your heart flutter a little. Something about it felt right, you thought suddenly, and it wasn’t like you’d thought about it before...

You two entered into the kitchen area and saw Papyrus chatting away on a phone, free hand stirring the pasta and sauce together and making sure everything was perfect.

 

“IT’LL BE GREAT! I’M SURE HE’LL BE GLAD TO SEE YOU! AND YOU GET TO MEET OUR HUMAN ROOMMATE TOO!” Papyrus paused, listening to the voice on the other end of the line.

“YES, I’LL LET THEM KNOW. BYE!”

He set down the phone on top of the fridge and giggled ecstatically.

Sans, still in a good mood and curious, leaned against the counter opposite of the stove with a lazy, satisfied smile. Man, he looked good, and not just as far as mood went...

“so who’s visiting, paps?”

Papyrus turned on his heels, sparkles practically bursting out of his eye sockets with glee.

“METTATON! HE IS TAKING A BREAK FROM HIS TOUR TO VISIT EVERYBODY!”

 

Just like that, all the affection, joy, and hope left poor Sans’ face, only to be replaced with something akin to disdain... or perhaps disgust.

You leaned in towards him and whispered.

 

“Wait... are you guys talking about _the_ Mettaton?”


	14. Sans is one salty skeleton...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has beef with MTT, gets grumpy, and texts you a lot.
> 
> Also you get your unruly hair cut a bit

Mettaton was one of those rare monsters that managed to find a name for himself on the surface. Sure it wasn’t A-List film deals and free meals at six star restaurants good, but compared to how most others fared, he was doing pretty well. It helped that he was a particularly rich monster, as he was on tour less than two weeks after the barrier fell. He and his supposed cousin were on a music and dance tour across the surrounding states, though Mettaton himself had wanted to go international right off the bat.

He was an internet sensation, loved by a lot of people with a particular taste for robots. And to be fair, he was plenty entertaining.

You weren’t too huge on metal attraction, but Mettaton was charming, fashionable, (literally) silver tongued, and not a bad looker. His interviews with reporters were always fun, his dances and musical sense (thanks to his cousin of course) were nothing to laugh at, and humans took to him easily. You were a bit of a fan, he was good entertainment and knew how to perform and wow audiences.

 

And here you were, standing in your apartment about five minutes before dinner, shocked at the fact that Papyrus had an internet celebrity on speed dial.

 

“So you’re telling me,” you finally said, “that you not only know an internet sensation who sings and dances and travels around this part of the states with a damn good DJ... but he’s also your close friend?!”

Papyrus nodded his head frantically with a big stupid grin on his face that was downright contagious. Your eyes sparkled and you felt a lot of energy come back to you all of the sudden. Sans, however, didn’t seem to share the excitement.

“you actually _like_ that talking calculator?”

You looked over to Sans, and you could see the clear irritation on his face.

“Well sure!” you responded. “I mean, he’s got good show sense, his dancing’s great, and he knows how to pull off a pseudo-glam rock style.”  
You shrug.  
“I’ve seen some of his shows on youtube. People online seem to have a thing for singing robots, he’s popular.”

 

“doesn’t make him any less of a self-centered ass,” you heard Sans mutter. You gave him a look and he just rolled his eyes.  
“he acts all nice and showy on stage and to fans, but trust me, that jerk only looks out for himself. and all he talks about is himself, all he _thinks_ about is probably himself.”

“BUT BROTHER! HE CARES ABOUT ALPHYS AND NAPSTABLOOK AND THE BOTH OF US AND FRISK, DOES HE NOT?” Papyrus argued.

Sans just rolled his eyes again. “he only sees alphys whenever his fancy chrome plating needs a tune up, i dunno what to say about ‘blook but i know for a fact that the jerk doesn’t give two shits about me... plus, this is the first time he’s called ya in... what, two months? Three?”

“YOU KNOW HE HAS BEEN BUSY WITH HIS BIG TOUR, SANS! HE HASN’T CALLED ANYBODY WHILE AWAY, AND... IT _HAS_ BEEN TWO MONTHS. IT IS GOOD TO HEAR FROM HIM.”

“and don’t even get me started on the kid. you and i both know that he--” Sans took notice of you, growling quietly before rewording whatever it was that was on the tip of his tongue.  
“he wasn’t so nice to the kid when they first met, paps.”

“THAT IS HARDLY FAIR,” Papyrus retorted, “HE HAS APOLOGIZED FOR HIS PREVIOUS BEHAVIOR, AND THINGS WERE VERY DIFFERENT THEN. THEY ARE FRIENDS NOW, JUST AS WE ARE TO HIM.”

 

Ah jeez, they were really starting to argue on this. You never realized the brothers even _could_ argue with each other! You tried to pipe up before things got a little too heated.

“What do you mean by previous behavior? Was he a jerk to that kid who came up with you guys?”

“more than that,” Sans started, but caught himself again. He paused, then he sighed. “bro is right. ’s not really relevant.”

You furrowed your brows. Now they were _both_ clearly keeping something from you, but you weren’t sure what. Hell, Sans could be just blowing something out of proportion because of personal feelings... Still...  
“Okay but... must have been a pretty bad thing if you’re still salty about it, dude.”

“i said it’s not relevant!” He snapped back, and you froze, utterly bewildered at his outburst.

You and Sans stared each other down for a moment, and you could see the irritation on his face. You weren’t one to take such outbursts lightly, and you kept eye contact with him, unsure if you should be angry or surprised. Slowly, the annoyance faded from his features, and he backed down somewhat under your gaze. He looked down at the floor and collected himself with a sigh.

“sorry, shouldn’t’ve snapped at ya.”  
He looked back to his little brother with a weak smile, accepting that the robot would visit whether he liked it or not.  
“so when’s the bucket of bolts coming, bro?”

 

Papyrus had stayed quiet, watching the momentary conflict as it ebbed in and out. You wondered if this was just what he did when Sans got snappy, though you couldn’t imagine it lasting long when directed at him. Sans was too protective of Papyrus, he loved him too much to stay angry or take shit out on him, or that’s what it seemed like to you, it wasn’t like you’d known them for a very long time...

“OH!” Papyrus realized he was being called on, and he fumbled a bit as he took everything off the burners.  
“HE SAID SOMETIME AT THE END OF NEXT WEEK? HE HASN’T FIGURED OUT A DATE YET.”

Sans sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.   
“ok well you get back to me when he figures his shit out, cuz i’ve already got my own stuff planned.”

“If you’re that against seeing him,” you said a little sterner than you’d intended. (Were you still a little salty about being snapped at? Probably).  
“Then I guess you should hope that he comes here to visit at the same time as our plans, so you don’t have to deal with him... Though personally, I’d like to meet the guy.”

 

The look Sans gave you was nothing short of incredulous, perhaps even irate at your somewhat passive aggressive remark. _Yeah that’s right buddy. You don’t just ask me out then start acting like an ass._ Still, Sans had already apologized, no need to keep up being an ass back. He looked like he meant it, at the very least.

Papyrus continued to look between the two of you, and suddenly his eyes got wide, and a smile grew, and oh no... you knew what was coming....

 

“SO WHAT ARE THESE ‘PLANS’ YOU SPEAK OF, BROTHER?”

 

“well paps,” Sans said with a slight sigh, clearly relieved of the tension. “turns out i got a hot date with a human, though so far i seem to be making a bad impression.”

 

Was that petty revenge? It seemed like petty revenge, given Papyrus’ glee filled expression was now towards you instead of Sans... and you were most certainly trying hard not to blush. He looked ready to squeal, so you crossed your arms and tried to put on your tough look.

“Yeah some guy crawled out of his coffin to ask me out. Guess pickings are slim in the afterlife these days.”  
You face Sans a sly look.  
“Though maybe their tastes died with them if they don't appreciate his charm and jokes.”

“And good looks,” Sans added, and you nodded with a growing grin.

“And good looks. The ladies buried at the cemetery don't know what they're missing.”

 

Ok, so maybe trying to defuse things by flirting wasn’t the best idea, because you were immediately scooped up into a bone crushing hug by the younger brother.

“I KNEW IT! YOU TWO _DO_ LIKE EACH OTHER! I AM VERY GLAD ONE OF YOU FINALLY ASKED. UNDYNE OWES ME FIVE DOLLARS NOW... WHICH ONE OF YOU ASKED?”

You wheezed in his grip and Sans just about choked. Papyrus didn’t seem interested in putting you down yet, too excited to notice you were getting crushed.

“i did.” Sans almost sputtered, “please dont tell me you also bet on that.”

“NYEHEHEHE, I DID INDEED! AND NOW UNDYNE OWES ME _TEN_ DOLLARS, AND ALPHYS OWES ME FIVE.”

“Papyrus...” you wheezed, “as angry as I should be that you bet on whether or not we would go on a date...” you winced, but you noticed Paps’ attention was back to you.

“Yeah, my ribs can’t take too much more love, dude.”

 

He made a small gasp and set you down, apologizing profusely while you tried to assure him that you were just impressed that he had such a strong grip.

‘Your bones are super thin, man, but you can pick me up like I weigh nothing. That’s super great.’

‘it’s a skeleton thing, addy. we got some strong bones.’

‘MY BROTHER IS RIGHT!!!’

 

Of course, the distraction didn’t last long, and Papyrus was back to drilling the two of you in mere moments.

“SO WHERE ARE YOU GOING? YOU AREN’T GOING TO GRILLBY’S ARE YOU? YOU ALWAYS GO TO GRILLBY’S!”

Sans just sighed. “it’s just a first date. nothing fancy, nothing overbearing, nothing complicated.”  
He narrowed his eyes a bit and scrunched up his nose.  
“and i’m only gonna tell you that it’s happening next weekend. ‘cuz you’ll just tell everybody and _that’s_ when it’ll get complicated.”

Papyrus looked taken aback to an almost dramatic scale, feigning a gasp that almost sounded genuine... Or perhaps it was genuine, given the tall skeleton’s love for being dramatic.

“SANS I AM SHOCKED! OF COURSE I CAN KEEP YOUR DATE TIME SECRET, DEAR BROTHER. I AM A WONDERFUL KEEPER OF SECRETS AFTER ALL.”

He looked hurt, and even tried to pout (which was extra funny, given he didn’t have lips to do so with).

“AT THE VERY LEAST YOU SHOULD TELL ME THE DAY.”

 

Well, there was no arguing with that, at least not without treating Papyrus like a child. Sans gave in while you stood there wondering for the first time in many weeks what you’d gotten yourself into.

“ok, ok. next saturday. don’t tell undyne, don’t tell alph, and especially _don’t tell mettaton._ ”  
Sans gritted his teeth, annoyance reemerging.  
“th’ last thing i need is his shiny nose getting into my business to try to ‘improve’ it. if i have to sit through his sequins and makeup and expensive dinners again, i might have to get orion to dust me where i stand.”

You paled a bit at that.

“Shit, did he put you in sequins before?”

You balked at the idea of being glammed up for a date. You tried it once. It didn’t work. And picturing poor Sans on some previous date in a overly fancy getup... Yeesh, yeah no. Save that for a few months in at least, if not a year! Actually. No sparkly fancy things _ever._ Dear lord please no sparkly fancy things.

Luckily Sans was there to derail your unpleasant train of thought with a nervous chuckle.

“no and thank god for that. don’t you worry,” he winked at you. “i know the glitter stuff isn’t all that hard rock, sweetheart. i’ll reel that stuff in.”

“My hero,” you joked. “But keep the pet names for _after_ the first date, okay bonehead?”

 

“you got it~”

 

You smiled and rolled your eyes, putting your attention back on Papyrus, who had been graciously patient this whole time.

“Alright dude,” you started, “You’ve been wiggling in place since we got out here. How about you tell me about Mettaton over dinner?”

His eyes got sparkly and his big grin only bigger.

“OF COURSE, BRIGHT HAIRED HUMAN! I HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TOO! I HAVE RECORDINGS OF ALL HIS SHOWS AND MOVIES HE HAS STARRED IN.”

He shooed you and Sans away with plates you didn’t even notice he’d prepared (Seriously, how fast _is_ this guy?). Then he was gone into his room and out by the time you and his older brother had sat down on the couch, an armful of VCRs and CDs and a spare player for both just in case.

 

You were wondering what you’d gotten yourself into.

 

~———————~

 

Turns out, the only thing you got yourself into was a wide variety of entertainment... Or, well, that’s what Papyrus called it. Some of the dated film clips were barely watchable, and most of the episodes (talk shows, cooking shows, a dancing competition, etc) were very... Mettaton-centric. His original look was on everything, Sans even mentioned sometime during the night that there were steaks shaped like the celebrity at a MTT Brand restaurant.

‘Oh man. Now THIS I gotta see.’

‘his ego will drive you nuts, seriously.’

 

You weren’t too shocked, of course. Lots of celebrities had huge, insufferable egos... but man Mettaton really seemed to take the cake. Even the shit he advertised on his shows tended to be from his brand in some way or another. You asked Papyrus to stop playing cooking show episodes after a while, and you were starting to understand why Sans was so against glitter and sequins. You were seriously starting to worry if this robot was going to be an overbearing snob, because if he was then you were going to be worried. Not for your sake of course, but his, since your patience with the foppish sort tended to be thin at best.

It had to have been getting on eleven at night by the time any of you felt tired... Okay, subjectively speaking, you and Sans were already tired, but that was more in an emotional sense. Mettaton’s stuff was fun enough to watch (and more fun to riff on, though you toned it down for Papyrus’ sake).

Still, you yawned once and that was it. Papyrus was shooing you out to get well needed rest. You weren't sure how you liked his mothering behavior, since it was usually directed at his lazy older brother... But the three of you knew that the night had been rough in between dealing with nightmares and dealing with death laser dragon skulls from the void.

 

So there you lay in bed, teeth brushed, thoughts ebbing in and out, and cat sprawled on your legs like she owned the place. You lay there for a short while until your phone buzzed on the dresser next to you. You weren’t all too shocked to see it was Sans sending a text.

 

**10:22 PM - Sans - i imagine ur still up**

**10:22 PM - You - bonely? ;O**

**10:22 PM - You - But seriously what’s up?**

**10:23 PM - Sans - wanted to say sorry about snapping at you earlier**

**10:24 PM - Sans - last night’s still fresh i guess. that shit about mtt is just old, bad blood.**

**10:24 PM - Sans - he wasnt even in the damn nightmare lmao**

**10:24 PM - Sans - if he was there would have been a lot more glitter and stage lights**

**10:24 PM - Sans - probably me in my underwear surrounded by exes**

**10:25 PM - You - You’ve had that one before, haven’t you?**

**10:25 PM - Sans - yup**

**10:25 PM - You - You can’t possibly have had that many flings at... 27, right?**

**10:26 PM - Sans - yeah 27. And you’d be shocked. Couple exes, a few flings n one night stands, friends with benefits, i was messed up for a while**  

 

You crinkled your nose. That was a bit... _much_...

 

**10:27 PM - You - dude tmi**

**10:28 PM - Sans - yeah uh... lmao yikes, sorry. idk i just felt like you knew that already for some reason**

**10:28 PM - You - well now that we’re on the tmi train.... Boxers or briefs?**

**10:28 PM - Sans - wow**

**10:28 PM - Sans - boxers tho**

**10:28 PM - You - cute. what color?**

**10:29 PM - Sans - i thought you didn’t want tmi. that’s a bit personal**

**10:29 PM - You - Exactly.**

**10:29 PM - You - try to get some rest ok?**

**10:31 PM - Sans - I’ll try. Paps just went to bed himself, read him a bit of hitchhikers guide, he enjoyed it**

**10:31 PM - Sans - Text u in the morning?**

**10:31 PM - You - You can just knock on the door ^^**

**10:32 PM - Sans - kk. Night addy**

**10:32 PM - You - Night Sans.**

 

And for hours, you lay there, trying to get the idea of Sans in his underwear out of your head. Eventually the cat jumped down and left the room for food and water. You probably wouldn’t see her for a bit, she’d lounge on the couch, possibly have a midnight yodel, then go back to sleep. The minutes ticked by sleeplessly, thoughts of Sans continuing to plague you. Well, plague in that you were wondering how you could have a friends with benefits with a skeleton... unless...

You cover your face and groan humorlessly. Dear GOD no don’t even think of magic. You’re usually weirded out enough by the thought of the real and fleshy kind getting anywhere near you, but a magical one? Man, just being around Sans when he was getting all magicky felt weird n tingly... A magic-- STOP THINKING ABOUT IT!!!

Stop thinking about Sans having flings

Stop thinking about HOW he can have those flings.

Why did he _tell you that!?_

 

You weren’t going to be another one of those flings... were you?

 

Your phone buzzed on the dresser again, and you were somewhat surprised to see it was another text from Sans. Might as well see what’s going on, he’s not one to text you like this after all.

 

**1:27 AM - Sans - Hey... you awake?**

 

You’d feel bad if you ignored him.

 

**1:28 AM - Sans - Addy?**

**1:28 AM - You - I’m here! Sorry. You OK?**  

**1:29 AM - Sans - Can I come over there real quick to see you?**

**1:29 AM - Sans - I think I’m dreaming.**

**1:29 AM - Sans - and not in the dream-come-true sorta way I mean I legit think I’ll wake up**

**1:29 AM - Sans - and you won't be there**

 

Your heart ached for him, and you frowned. This was uh... that thing where people think either they’re not real or everybody else isn’t. You knew somebody once who told you how to help people through it... Man, asking you out, the nightmare, all of it must have put him in a bad place, or at least in a place where he’d be questioning reality.

You didn’t notice Sans had texted you a couple more times for a minute until you looked down to reply.

 

**1:30 AM - Sans - Addy?**

**1:31 AM - Sans - Please come on**

**1:31 AM - Sans - Please say something**

**1:31 AM - Sans - I don’t want you to be fake**

**1:31 AM - You - I’m here, I’m here, sorry! Sans. I can’t have you in here with me right now.**  

**1:32 AM - Sans - Why?**

**1:32 AM - You - Because I’m topless and there’s no shirt within reach. Just read these texts and breathe for me okay?**

**1:32 AM - Sans - OK**

**1:33 AM - You - Okay. Now focus on these texts I’m sending you. Do phones work coherently in dreams?**

**1:33 AM - Sans - No**

**1:33 AM - You - Good. Now focus on that. I am telling you through the phone that I’m very real. You are awake, I’m just down the hall, you’ll see me in the morning before work.**

 

**1:34 AM - Sans - what if I wake up back in Snowdin without you? What if this is all some stupid dream and I’m still underground.**

 

Your heart ached harder, and you were tempted to throw on a shirt and go over there to him. But you didn’t, not now and not yet.

 

**1:35 AM - You - Check the windows. There are stars out tonight, you’re above ground and out of the barrier. Open your door a crack and let Lucy come in, she’ll help you feel better.**

 

You could faintly hear his door creak from the other end of the apartment, and a happy chirp from the cat. You waited a little longer then texted him again.

 

**1:40 AM - You - Feel grounded, bonehead?**

**1:41 AM - Sans - yeah. the phone thing helped. lucy too.**

**1:41 AM - Sans - got some shit lingering, but it’ll go away soon.**  

 

You smiled a bit. Maybe you could help with the last of that disassociation.

 

**1:42 AM - You - Hey Sans.**

**1:42 AM - Sans - yeah?**

**1:42 AM - You - How did the skeleton know it was going to rain?**

**1:43 AM - Sans - he felt it in his bones. nice try.**

**1:44 AM - You - No you bonehead, he checked the weather forecast!**  

 

There was a long pause, and you swear you could hear faint chuckling echoing through the apartment. Then he texted you again.

 

**1:46 AM - Sans - i could kiss you rn**

**1:46 AM - You - Save it for the date, loverboy ;O Gonna sleep now.**

**1:47 AM - Sans - nite addy.**

 

And that was that.

You fell asleep about an hour later, and you suspected the cat fell asleep in Sans’ room. For the better of course, she was supposed to be an emotional support animal after all, and he needed her around more at the moment. The next time he started to disassociate, which you had a feeling would happen, you’d be there for him as well. He needed it, you concluded, he really really needed it.

 

~———————~

 

As much as you hated being up early in the morning morning, the smell of pancakes was just too enticing to ignore. You weren’t surprised to see Papyrus looking as bright and sunny as the light filtering in from the windows. Lucy was rubbing herself on his legs and purring, and you noticed that the tall skeleton had put out her food for her and everything. Getting on her good side, aren’t we? Not like it was hard or anything. Lucy was easy to please and much too affectionate.

Sans was out about an hour later, looking worse for wear but not a complete mess. He was putting on a smile for you and Paps, but you could see through it. He was still hurting, but he still wouldn’t talk about it.

The both of you didn’t talk much for the rest of the day, and anything you did talk about was... well, ladled with poor puns. He wasn’t even putting in too much effort, and you were worried if it was the nightmare, the over sharing, the disassociation, or all three.

 

A few days into the week and you were convinced it was all three. He seemed to get better, but overall he seemed to be reserved and resigned. He didn’t snap again, but his efforts to close himself off were grating on the both of you. At the very least, the escorts to and from your night class were nice. He could look at the stars then, and the two of you talked about them during those walks. He was more himself then, his smile more genuine, his features less strained from pretending to be okay.

 

The only time you asked him why he was putting on a front, he promised it was so he didn’t do it during your date. He wanted that to feel real, he’d told you, and you believed him.

 

When saturday was finally there, you woke yourself up early for once, setting an alarm with the knowledge that you just _had_ to do something about your hair before the date... It was getting messier and messier, the short side was at a threshold that made it look... well, not shaved, as it was supposed to be.

Damn shame your clippers were busted. It’s why you hadn’t taken care of the mess sooner. You got dressed into something passable until later and wandered out into the living room. Sans was there too, as was Papyrus, who had Pancake on his shoulder. You checked the cage to be careful then smiled at them.

“Morning, boys! Uh...” you rubbed the back of your head sheepishly and laughed.

“You guys used to keep stuff in your place for Undyne, right? Do you have clippers I can borrow?”

“why d’ya need clippers?” Sans asked innocently.

You just pointed to your scruffy side and pouted.

“Look at this mess. I gotta shave it down.”

 

Papyrus fiddled a bit with dishes, giving you an apologetic smile.

“I AM AFRAID I RETURNED UNDYNE’S THINGS WHEN SHE MOVED IN WITH ALPHYS. THOUGH YOU ARE WELCOME TO LOOK THROUGH THE BATHROOMS IF YOU THINK ONE SLIPPED BY MY INCREDIBLE GAZE.”

 

Sans coughed, and you directed yourself towards him. He stood and shrugged his shoulders.

“no worries paps. pretty sure I still got one.”

Papyrus gave him a knowing nyeh of approval, and then he was pushing you towards your date.

“GO ON!”

You rolled your eyes and looked back to sans with a smile. He nodded his head towards his room and you followed.

 

He led you to his bathroom, and you were impressed that it was more orderly than the rest of his pig sty of a room. He fished around in the cabinet under the sink until he procured blue clippers. They were so undyne it hurt, but at least it was clean. He handed it to you and you looked it over with an impressed smile.

“Dude this thing’s in good condition. You think Undyne will mind me using it until I buy a new one?”

He shrugged. “she’s got another one. keep it.”

“Thanks!” you beamed, then turned to leave.

Sans caught your arm and you looked back at him. He scratched his cheek and blushed slightly. You tilted your head and he blushed a little, chuckling.

“i can do it if you want. did undyne’s a couple of times.”

 

You stared, blinked a few times, and slowly smiled. He looked sheepish, perhaps a bit apologetic for being so distant that week. You thought about it for a moment... You _did_ like people messing with your hair. It made the awful smell of bleach at the salon tolerable whenever you went in for a touch-up. You handed him the clippers and patted his cheek with a growing smile.

“I’d love that.”

Any nervousness seemed to melt away and he motioned for you to sit on the edge of the tub for him. You looked in at a few of the soaps he had as he tested to see if the clippers had any charge, (they did). He brought it over to you and sat behind you, moving you so your head was tilted away from him. You heard the clippers turn on and felt a bony hand on your shoulder.

 

“half an inch should be about right. all good?”

“All good,” you replied to Sans.

He made a noise and brought the clippers up to start at your neck. You shivered a bit at the initial touch, forgetting how sensitive your nape was. He hummed while he worked, and you remained still, enjoying the feel of the trimming blades along your scalp. He took some of the longer hair and ran his fingers through it to get it out of the way and you made a pleasant, almost wanting noise in your throat. He chuckled and got up close to the parting of your hair to get a little bit more, moving your head slightly.

 

“enjoying yourself?”

“Dude,” you breathed, “One of the reasons I love going to the salon is because people are touching my hair. _I love it._ ”

He did one last piece around your ear and turned the clippers off, leaving the room silent save the echoes of buzzing in your head. He chuckled again and gave your hair a few more strokes, scratching your scalp on the last one to see if he could get a reaction out of it. He did, you ended up leaning against him with a sigh, thoroughly satisfied and feeling better now that your hair was more orderly.

You could tell he was smiling, you didn’t even need to look to know.

 

Eventually, he pushed you up until you were on your feet, then turned around to wash away the shaven hair from the tub. You took that time to look at yourself in the mirror, feeling satisfied and impressed with his handiwork. He must’ve done well with Undyne before, her shaven hairstyles always looked on point to the “T”. You moved to give him a hug when he was done, patting his cheek with a growing smile as he returned the affection.

“Looks great! Let’s go show Papyrus.”

He nodded and ruffled your hair, much to your chagrin. He gave you a lazy smile.

“yeah, let’s go show him.”

You groaned and fixed your hair as you were led through his room out to the common area. Seeing Sans both in high spirits would be good for Papyrus, the poor boy was always worrying over his older brother’s wellbeing, and this felt like a step in the better direction.

Well, you were a bit surprised to see him already at high levels of glee and maximum volume. His eyes were glittering slightly and you swore his smile couldn’t get any bigger... Then you and his brother realized that he wasn’t alone out there.

 

Across from him in the kitchen stood a tall, handsome, chrome plated robot.

 

Mettaton noticed your presence and subtly flipped his hair, turning on his heels to face you. You could see in person what people liked about him. Even his off air persona was showy, he gave off charisma with the tiniest of smiles. You could hear a growl of distaste from Sans next to you, but still the both of you walked towards him. The robot placed a hand on his hip and gave you a smile that would have most people swooning.

  
“Well, you must be Adelaide! I’ve heard so much about you~”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Bother me here!](http://zonbiconbi.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> ~~man I love writing texts....~~


	15. Mettaton thinks humans are boring now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has salt but ends up being a jerk, you and Mettaton talk clothes, and everybody gets ready for the date

The day had been going well, Sans had figured. He woke up feeling somewhat more energetic than usual, Papyrus hadn't even needed to wake him for once. You'd looked to be in a good mood, you’d been putting up with his shit all week and somehow managed to look cheerful by saturday. Hell, Sans figured you’d get tired of him quickly, given the sudden distance he’d put between you and him. He felt bad about it, in retrospect, especially once you’d asked him why he was so quiet. He didn’t know how to tell you that on top of feeling bad about texting you in a panic and over sharing, that he was just feeling down overall.  


Mettaton’s name spiked memories in him he didn’t want to think about. There had been timelines where Sans had watched the the robot cleaving Frisk in two on live television. Sometimes he’d seen it multiple times in a short span, the human loading over and over again to escape or fight.

The only times Sans didn’t feel sorry were in  _ those _ timelines. The ones where that  _ thing _ had been controlling Frisk, affecting and influencing Frisk. Even then, he never could help himself from cringing.

The difference, he’d concluded, was that while Frisk’s violent timelines were the product of possession, Mettaton’s were not. That was just how he was. There was no demonic child influencing his decisions, he was just an asshole.

He took a chainsaw and tore through a literal fucking child  _ for publicity. _

So yeah, maybe Sans had distanced himself for a bit to collect himself in light of those thoughts, but he’d’ve felt worse if he’d snapped at you again. You’d nearly looked ready to slap him the last time, though it may have just been shock... Man, he’d been a mess. Hell, he was planning to apologize tonight, on the date he’d managed to ask you out for.

Of course, now he was worried that date wouldn’t even happen, as Mettaton strutted towards you to shake your hand.

If Sans could bare his teeth and growl and scare him away he would, but for your sake and Papyrus’ sake, he kept cool... well, as cool as he could when irrational anger creeped up his vertebrae.

“Did Papyrus really talk about me?” you said with a beaming smile on your face.  
Ugh, Sans loved that smile, he just hated who you were giving it to... Mettaton flipped his hair and grabbed your hand for a quick, showy shake.

“But of course darling,” he practically sang. “And dear Doctor Alphys mentioned you at my last tune-up. Apparently you’ve made quite the impression on the monsters you’ve met.”

You blushed and waved your hand in a classic ‘oh you’ gesture.

“Come on, I'm just being a decent person. You all are some of the best friends I've ever made.”  
You paused, looked at him, then smiled a little less heavily.  
“Well, I don't know you yet so I guess ‘you all’ doesn't apply yet, but who knows, right?”

“Who knows indeed,” he laughed, and Sans let out a scoff. He immediately regretted it when the robot’s eyes fell to him with a more playful grin.

“Speaking of knowing things. Sans my dear~”

Sans gritted his teeth at the sing song voice, then forced himself back into his usual smile.

“yes your highness?”

“There's no need to sass me, Sans.” He chided back. “I merely have a question.”  
He tried to be serious, but there was still a smug smile lingering on his features as he looked down at Sans.  
“Your brother just told me that you wouldn't be around for dinner. You're not still holding a grudge about...” He looked at you, then back to the skeleton. “About _ that _ . Are you?”

Sans kept his smile going, finding it easier from years of practice.  
“it was pretty fucked up, what you did. i know you apologized to the kid for that crap but--”

“But I genuinely regret my actions,” Mettaton interrupted, looking serious for once.  
“I know now that I was being absolutely horrid. Frisk has forgiven me though! I had hoped that maybe you would follow them and the rest of our friends in doing so as well...”

Of course this was all about him, how typical. He was trying at least, Sans had to give the calculator some credit  


“yeah, well,” Sans sighed, smile faltering slightly in favor of a scowl, “that'll take some time, let's not forget you  _ also _ managed to ruin three dates for me, two of which you set up without asking me first.”

“I was just trying to help, you were absolutely miserable before you ran off to Snowdin!”

_ ‘I'm still miserable _ ,’ he thought to himself.

“yeah? welI don't need your mtt brand help, okay?” Sans’ irritation was growing, he didn't know how long he could keep up his strained smile. Mettaton opened his mouth to protest but he was quickly cut off from that.  
“i don't need help, i can do things just fine on my own, okay? i can do my own work, n’ I can go on my own dates without people interfering!”

He immediately regretted his words, seeing Mettaton’s eyes grow as a realization crept along his features. You were giving him a look too, mostly concern, he noted. He didn't have time to silently ask you for help before Mettaton was upon you again with full energy.

“Adelaide my dear! You should have told me you were going on a date!” His attention went back to the skeleton. “Sans I am so proud of you, she is absolutely stunning~”

Sans blushed, you blushed, Papyrus giggled, and Mettaton absolutely beamed with pride.

This was  _ not _ how Sans had planned the day to go.

Immediately Mettaton had both of your hands in his, and he looked down at her with... Oh no, he's giving her  _ that _ look. That ‘I'm going to improve this’ look that always ended in glittery disaster.

“Where are you two going? Is it that Grillby’s place?” You nodded, caught up in the attention and energy. The robot merely shook his head.  
“Oh no that won't do, a first date is about making impressions! Oh I bet you don't even have an outfit planned, we have to address this so you don't have a last minute catastrophe!”  
He started tugging you away from Sans, who had half a mind to grab you back with a growl as the man holding you looked around.  
“Where’s your room, dear? I need to assess your wardrobe in case I need to make more calls.”

Sans looked ready to crush his stupid head as you looked to him in surprise... 

But another thought came to him. Something a little more devious, a little unkind, but a lot of fun if it worked. Slowly but surely, his lazy smile returned full force.

“go on,” he encouraged you, “he won't bite. no harm in letting him look right?”

You looked torn between murder and shock, but another tug from Mettaton and you were leading him away.

When you and him were gone, Papyrus turned to his brother with a disbelieving stare.

“I THOUGHT YOU DIDN'T WANT HIS HELP! YOU SAID HE WOULD COMPLICATE THINGS DIDN'T YOU?”

“oh i’m sure he'll try,” Sans said smugly, “but she's not the kind of girl to get pushed around into crap she doesn't want.”

There was a pause until Paps got it, and at the sound of his little gasp, Sans’ smile grew into something almost cruel.

“SANS! THAT IS POSITIVELY EVIL!”

“‘course it is,” he agreed, “and addy can hate me for it later, but the calculator needs to learn a lesson.”

Papyrus looked confused, tilting his head slightly.

“WHAT LESSON?”

“a simple one, bro.” Sans said, looking towards your door.

“back off.”

His sympathy was with you, your patience was about to be tested...

~———————~

This was possibly one of the more awkward situations you’d ever been in, regarding strangers being in your room. You leaned awkwardly against your bed, one hand stroking your cat’s back and the other folded across you. You were quiet, shifting uncomfortably, and staring at the back of a literal internet celebrity.

A literal internet celebrity that was going through your closet and scanning over each and every one of your shirts, jackets, and other such things.

Mettatton tutted once or twice, nodded and hummed here and there, and occasionally pulled something out to look at it in better light. Honestly, if the cat hadn’t been in the room with you two, you would have felt outright uncomfortable.

Oh yeah, Sans was a dead man after all of this.

Mettaton turned on his magenta heels and put his hands on his hips, looking towards the dresser behind you. You stiffened a bit and he flipped his hair with a tiny smile.  
“Do you have any skirts dear? Or a nice dress perhaps?”

“A dr- Wait a dress?” You shook your head. “No no dresses. I have a couple of skirts and pants in the dresser here though.”

He approached and you moved aside, crossing both arms as he started going through the dresser drawers. Lucy sat up as Mettaton approached and squeaked, and to your slight surprise, he reached over and patted her head a few times with a quiet hello. He rifled through your things and you stood back in silence until he turned to you with a disappointed look on his face.

“Do you have anything else? Everything you own is just so...  _ aggressive. _ ”

“Aggressive?”

He nodded with fervor and went back to your closet, pulling out some of your tanks and jackets.

“Aggressive! This is the sort of thing you wear when you wish to be left alone! And it’s all _ black _ . Leather jackets and muscle tanks just scream ‘talk to me and I’ll hurt you’. You’ll scare the boy off with this nonsense.”

The leather jacket he held in one hand happened to be one of your favorites, and you crinkled your nose at his bias.

“Aggressive? I mean yeah sure it’s a tough-girl look but I wouldn’t call it  _ aggressive _ .”

Your words seemed to fall on deaf ears as he shook his head, putting everything away with a dramatic flair. You saw a look in his eyes, and you realized that things were about to get far out of hand

“No no no no this will  _ not _ do!” He whined, “You need to  _ wow _ him! Sweep him off his feet so he knows you mean business!”

He strutted towards you again, pulling a phone from a compartment, a wire stretching out from his middle. He gave you this... look. You couldn’t place it, but he meant business and he was not about your style of clothes.

“I mean to make it up to Sans for destroying three perfectly good relationships. I will  _ not _ let this date end in utter disaster like the last few!”

He was dialing numbers and you started to pale. Oh god, were Sans’ jokes about sequins and ruffles about to become a reality?

“Mettaton, dude-”

“There is no glamor! And you’re going to Grillby’s of all places! I’m setting you up with a dinner at my resort, neither of you know how to date  _ properly _ .”

“Mettaton-”

“No style, no wow factor, people are so droll.” Somebody picked up on the other end of the line and he put on a smile, despite it only being you in the room. “Yes hello! I need you to-”

You’d had enough. “METTATON!”

He stopped, blinked, and slowly turned to look at you again. You were out of patience and it had only been ten minutes. He looked at the phone then back to you, then hung up without a word.

“Do you actually  _ want _ to go to Grillby’s?”

“Of course I do!” you growled. “This is a  _ first date _ , Mettaton. Neither of us want complicated or fancy or glittery, okay? I’m not about that shit and I don’t think Sans is either!”

He looked down at his feet, then back to you, still confused.

“But it’s so... boring! There’s no drama, no romantic venues, dates are supposed to be about dazzling your partner into asking to go out again!”

Oh... he’s literally thinking entertainment, oh god the poor robot thinks that this goes down like on TV! Monsters may be quick to this stuff, but humans didn’t normally go for the glammy shit on the first date. You sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose.

“No human in their right mind wants all of that on a first date, dude.”

“Why not?” he asked in slight protest. You just shrugged back at him.

“Because a first date is about getting to know each other for who they are and stuff. Sans and I? We’re testing the waters, just trying to see if we really like each other enough to make it through more dates. Or, hell, even to see if we want things to go serious or not.”

He was quiet, listening intently, as if you were giving him the most important data on earth. He nodded a bit at your explanation, hand on his chin as he thought of it, looking slightly deflated.

“So you mean to say,” he started, crinkling his nose, “that humans don’t like to rush in full force? You just... take it easy, and... slow?”

You nodded and he deflated again.

“I’ve got a feeling that most monsters prefer to take their first dates easy as well, Mettaton. Hate to break it to you, but I think you ruined three dates for Sans because you went too extreme too soon.”

He pouted and moved some hair behind his ear, looking at you like you’d delivered the worst sort of news.

“So humans really are just as boring as monsters? How... disappointing.”

He fretted a bit with his hair then tried to push again.

“Are you sure I can’t at least convince you to come to the resort for a  _ proper _ dinner?”

You scowled and reached back to pick up your overweight cat, holding her out in front of you.

“If you keep pushing the idea of Sans and I going somewhere fancy and expensive, I WILL throw this cat at you, and she will shed  _ all over you _ and trust me, I know how much fur loves to stick to metallic things.”

If robots could pale, you were sure he just did so, because he immediately reeled in his thoughts and took a step back. So perhaps he wasn’t as intimidated by you, but the idea of getting fur all over him was enough of a threat for him to back down. He was overbearing, but at least you’d gotten him to shut up and back down before resorting to violence. Finally, he sighed, flipping his hair with a bit more energy. It certainly didn’t take long for him to regain his showmanship...

“I would still love to help, even if I think what you’re doing is extremely plain.”

You cracked a smile, placing Lucy back on the bed so you could pat one of his shoulderpads.

“Any help from a celebrity is welcome, so long as he doesn’t throw heaps of glitter on top.”

“That was  _ one time _ ,” he protested, puffing up, “and they looked absolutely magnificent.”

You rolled your eyes with a smile.

“I’m sure,” you joked, “but none of that shit for me, please. I’m all about that hard rock look, with a bit of punk mixed in.”

He tilted his head, confused. “Hard rock?”

Oh jeez, the monsters were absolutely deprived... You pulled out your phone and did the best searches you could to describe the look to him. Guns n Roses tees, leather jackets and ripped jeans, a couple of skirts here and there that would placate his design interests, and of course the sick hairstyles and graffiti and everything that made your aesthetic yours.

He seemed to get the idea, for the most part, and seemed to enjoy the eccentricity and energy of what you showed him.

His energy and zeal returned quickly, and soon he was back into your closet and rifling through everything at full force. You helped, of course, but this time around you were a bit more trusting of what Mettaton would find. You were impressed that he adjusted so quickly, but then again he  _ had _ always had a fascination with humans, from what you knew of him.

You stood out of the way of the metal hurricane, occasionally piping up to correct him on a shirt that he thought might work. Once you and him had come to an agreement, he was upon you, having you try on the various outfits he’d slapped together. Somehow he’d even found your earrings and other jewelry, and all of the sudden this had turned into something genuinely fun.

He had you twirl once or twice, pose in a few different jacket and top combos, and hold you still to compare earrings while you chatted away. This was the sort of Mettaton that you imagine people fell in love with, somebody who was creative and energized and good at seeing what works best and what looks good. Oh man, what the kids in Fashion would give to learn alongside a mind like his.

“Mettaton, you should look into fashion designing, you’ve got an eye for this,” you commented at one point, twirling around in a jacket-tee-skirt combo with a pair of boots you’d forgotten you even had.

He gave you this smile, as if it had been his idea all along to do such a thing, but you could tell that gears were turning in his head. For all you knew, this’d bite you later, but he really did seem to have an eye for it.

After a short while, he pulled you to standing and clapped his hands once with excitement.

“I’ve got it! But we’re going to need to shop for a few things first.”

He reached forward and examined your faded green hair with a hum.

“And at the very least you should allow me to take you to a salon, your hair is in need of new color.”

Your eyes must have sparkled because he gave you a flashy smile and flipped his hair back.

“It’s the least I can do. I have an idea of what to buy for you now. Think you’re up for a shopping trip, dear?”

You felt a tiny ounce of dread at the idea of shopping with him... Mostly because you were worried he’d try to push you into a sequin dress or something. You swallowed a lump and nodded, despite it all.

“We’re still keeping it simple and not complicated, right?”

“Of course, Addy dear! But I think a fresh set of clothes, some new hair, and maybe a touch of makeup will really enhance the night.”

He gave you a playful wink.

“You’ll still look like you, cross my soul.”

“You know what Mettaton?” you said with a huge, stupid grin. “I trust you.”

“I’m delighted to hear it, darling~” he sang, “now let’s get going.”

He gave you time to change back into your regular clothes and put on some shoes before taking you by the hand. You both walked out together where the bone brothers were waiting, talking to each other. They both looked to you, expecting you to look annoyed and likely expecting Mettaton to look absolutely whipped.

Well, that’s what you assumed they were expecting, judging by their surprised expressions.

You were in a better mood now that Mettaton knew what to do for you, and Mettaton was excited about a new project, even if it wasn’t as glamorous as what he was used to. You were grabbing your keys from the counter excitedly before heading to leave. You turned and waved back as Mettaton opened the door for you.

“Mettaton’s taking me for some fresh clothes and hair, I’ll be back in time for the date, boys!”

Sans looked at you like you’d grown a second head, and Papyrus absolutely beamed with excitement.

“TAKE CARE! I AM SURE THAT METTATON WILL FIND SOMETHING PERFECT FOR YOU! HE IS VERY STYLISH YOU KNOW.”

“Thank you, Papy dear~” Mettaton cooed, flipping his hair again. “Of course, she managed to talk me out of what I originally had planned, which would have been incredible, mind you.”

You subtly shook your head in disagreement at the boys, and Sans  _ almost _ cracked a smile. Mettaton, luckily, didn’t notice.

“But alas, I must concede defeat and stoop to less magnificent looks, but I assure you that you both will be swept off your feet.”

He winked at them then held your shoulder, leading you to leave.

“Make whatever you want for dinner, Papyrus, I’m sure it will be lovely~”

You were off to the mall with your new friend before anybody had an opportunity to stop you, and somehow you felt like Mettaton would do this right... for once, anyways, if Sans’ word was true.

Well, this should be fun!

~———————~

Sans stared at the door for a full five minutes before Papyrus snapped his fingers in front of his brother’s face. Sans blinked back to reality and breathed out in utter, total shock.

“he was supposed to get his ass kicked...”

“I IMAGINE THERE WAS PLENTY OF THAT, BROTHER!” Papyrus said with a know-it-all nod. “HE MUST HAVE PLAYED TO HER INTERESTS. HE IS A VERY GOOD LISTENER WHEN YOU ASK HIM TO BE, YOU KNOW.”

“i know, bro,” Sans sighed, “‘s still hard for me to trust him...”  
Papyrus looked deflated at those words, or worried at the very least, so Sans put on a smile and patted his brother’s back.  
“but hey, if you trust the calculator with her, then i do too. wanna watch some tv with me?”

Papyrus may not have little white pupils like Sans, but somehow it was easy to tell when his eyes were lighting up. It was all in that big, dorky grin of his. Sans always loved that about him, it reminded him a bit of the way dad used to smile when he had a eureka moment... He missed Gaster, but at least he still had Papyrus.

Yeah... he still had Papyrus this time. He was hoping it’d stay that way.

After a quick change into what he’d be wearing for the date, Sans sat with Papyrus on the couch for hours, flipping channels and checking the DVR and guides for new things to watch every now and then. He texted you once to make sure you didn’t need a rescue, but his worries were smoothed over with a few replies from you. Satisfied, he sat back and paid better attention to the television screen. Sans realized halfway into an episode of Chopped that he hadn’t spent time with his brother like this in a long while. It was... honestly, it was great. Sans hadn’t realized how much he’d missed this. Just sitting around watching TV, making comments and jokes and occasionally poking fun at each other.

This is what brothers were supposed to do, right?

Sans felt like somehow, he’d neglected to do this sort of stuff for a long, long time... Perhaps in the early years before he was old enough to help in the lab, he might have done this sort of stuff... But then there was work with dad, the accident, going out every night to try to forget... sentry work in Snowdin, Papyrus’ attempts just to get Sans out of his room every morning that for a long time didn’t even work... The resets, the emotional backlash of seeing him die over and over again... God, where had Sans even been all this time?

“BROTHER, ARE YOU OKAY?”

Sans blinked once, twice, three times, then back over to Papyrus. He looked concerned again, and the elder brother realized that he had been seriously spacing out there for a minute or two... and when he spaced out, people said he tended to look worried. Sans gave him a weak, albeit genuine little smile and shrugged apologetically.

“‘m fine, just spaced out and thought about stuff.”

“WHAT SORT OF STUFF?” Papyrus asked innocently, and Sans had to hold back from talking about, well, everything.

He just shrugged again.

“just stuff like we really need to hang out like this more often, bro. this’s been pretty nice.”

“IT HAS BEEN VERY NICE! I ENJOY THESE MOMENTS OF BROTHERLY BONDING, EVEN IF IT MEANS BEARING THROUGH YOUR PUNS.”

“aw come on, bro,” Sans chuckled, “you know ya love them.”

Papyrus puffed a bit and folded his arms dramatically.

“I DO AND I HATE IT.”

Sans and Papyrus shared a laugh, but it was quickly cut off by a quick knock on the door. Papyrus, of course, immediately leapt up to get the door, getting in between Sans and whoever was on the other side. It was obviously you and Mettaton back from a day of date prep, and Sans was severely tempted to use some gravity magic to move Papyrus aside so he could look at you. Of course, he ended up not needing to, as Mettaton strutted in with you in tow.

“Sans, I present your ever lovely date,” the robot announced in his usual showtime voice. He stepped to the side quickly and let you take the imaginary spotlight, and you stood there looking a bit nervous, but a lot better than Sans had expected from Mettaton.

You had a black jacket that was likely real leather (as Mettaton always made efforts to go above and beyond), distressed jeans that bunched up as they met with a pair of black boots. You had a little bit of copper and silver jewlery here and there, but nothing too shiny or too showy. Even the tank top you had on was simple but fun, a plain white material with a black heraldic dragon printed on it, nothing over the top at all. You looked like you, this was the sort of stuff you always seemed to wear, and you looked great.

Sans would have spent more time getting a good look at what you were wearing, but honestly? He was too focused on your hair.

Mettaton had gotten your hair cut a bit on the long side and then completely redyed. You had a slight peacock look going, with greens and teals and blues blended together into something almost aquatic looking. The blue dominated over the other colors, however, and that was what caught his eye.

It was the same deep blue as his magic, the same deep blue as his soul.

Sans was probably on his feet faster than anybody would have expected, coming up to you with heart eyes and blue blush. He’d managed to find a pair of clean shoes and a tee that wasn’t stained to hell, but he didn’t look all too different.

You though? You weren’t different, but you  _ were _ , and Sans was so damn ready for this date.

“man... you uh, heh, you look great.”

You might have blushed a bit, but Sans was still staring in awe at your hair. You patted his cheek playfully and laughed.

“Not bad yourself, bonehead. The low effort but cool look suits us, doesn’t it?”

“sure does,” he flirted back, reaching up to touch your hair. To his amusement, you leaned into the touch a bit, and he remembered that the hair touching thing was something you actually liked.  
“hair’s great by the way.”

“You like it?” You grinned at him, “I’ve been meaning to go blue for a while, but Mettaton picked out the shade.”

“It was an easy choice, darling,” Mettaton said, flipping his hair for the hundredth time that day. “I just  _ knew _ Sans would love it.”

Sans gave him a look that was torn between surprise and thanks for the thoughtfulness, but metal hands were upon you both and pushing you towards the door before there were any more words to be said.

“Now if that clock’s correct, it’s six, and that means you two  _ must _ go to Grillby’s and have a good time. Go on, okay? Kiss and hug and talk and do all the lovely things that happen on dates and tell me how it goes afterwards, okay?”

“sure, sure,” Sans chuckled, wrapping an arm around your shoulders as you both were shoved out into the hall. He waved a free hand back and gave Mettaton a smile, a  _ real smile _ .

“see ya later, keep out of trouble n’ stuff, don’t hurt papyrus or i’ll remove your arms and legs, yadda yadda yadda you know the drill. Seeya.”

He teleported to the front of the apartment building with you, and for once you looked unphased by the process. That was good progress, he figured, if you were getting used to that space jumping stuff. Anyways, the night was yours and his, and he meant to make something of it. First date or not, he was going to make this one work, and with you it felt like it would.

He rubbed your arm and grinned lazily at you.

“ready to go, sweetheart?”

You looked back and grinned in the same fashion, elbowing him slightly in good fun.

 

“You know I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Bother Me!](http://zonbiconbi.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
>  
> 
> and yall thought MTT would ruin everything... okay, well, Sans thought that.


	16. Your Boyfriend the Skeleton

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You finally go on that damn date, and things go surprisingly well.
> 
> Also, you try to act tough and succeed.

It hadn’t taken that much convincing to get Sans to just walk with you to Grillby’s. The sun was low but not quite set, the air was cool and inviting, and you wanted to just walk and talk for a while. You were thankful for the jacket Mettaton had picked out for you, it turned out to be perfect for the somewhat crisp mid-spring evenings, you’d be getting mileage out of it for sure. A few people gave you odd looks as the two of you walked and chatted away as always, it wasn’t like people  _ didn’t _ stare normally. Of course, you knew it was because you were walking with a monster, you wanted to stop one or two of the people who scoffed or muttered insults and fight, but Sans always reeled you back in.  


“keep a cool head, Addy,” he muttered to you when you’d tried to go after somebody who’d said something particularly nasty.   
“this isn’t anything new for me. you start fighting everybody who says something bad, you’re going to be fighting nonstop.”

“I’m Scottish,” you said somewhat irritably, “it’s in my blood to fight... and I hate what they’re saying about us, about  _ you. _ ”

“let ‘em talk,” he chuckled, reaching to intertwine his bony fingers through yours. “i’ve got some badass friends, us monsters stick together you know.”

“I’ve noticed,” you replied, squeezing his hand. “Hopefully there’s a few humans that are backing you guys too.”

“there are. i’m going on a date with a particularly cute one right now~”

“Stop!” You laughed, “I’m not cute, I’m badass!”

“you can be both at once.” he teased, making you turn a tiny bit red. “for example; me.”

You nudged his side and laughed. “Yup, you’re adorable! It was just meant to be.”

Sans slowed down, and you realized he wasn’t paying attention anymore. You slowed your pace to his and looked to him, his eyes were up in the scattered, tiny clouds. If he had actual eyes, you knew you’d see the reflection of the sunset sky in them. He looked... Oh what would be the word for it? His expression, as he gazed at the yellows and reds and purples that indicated the sun’s disappearance below the horizon? Content was close, or something close to awe. You remembered that monsters didn’t have sunsets in the Underground, and gave his hand another soft squeeze. You both stopped and stood there, watching the sky change colors in silence, a smile on your face.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“yeah,” he breathed, “it just goes on forever... and the colors, and the  _ stars. _ ”

“You could get lost, staring out there.”

“you know, i don’t think i’d mind that.”

You both fell into silence again, looking out into the sky as it deep blues overcame it, darkening until the first few stars of the night started twinkling. The both of you held hands, looked into the night, and watched how it changed in a peaceful, lulling quiet. The more Sans talked about the stars, the more terrible you’d felt for what had happened to monsters. This was just one of those moments when you remembered that he’d spent his entire life hoping, nearly praying, to one day see the real night sky, real clouds and real stars. He’d made it now, and seeing the adoration in his eye sockets made you feel warm and fuzzy. After a while, you started to recognize a few constellations, the sun far enough gone for the stars to really shine.

“Look,” you said, “Orion’s out right now.”

He snapped out of his fuzzy trance and looked around frantically.

“what?! where?”

You laughed loudly, nudging him in the side before pointing to the night sky.

“I mean the constellation, bonehead, not your death skull from the void.”

His cheekbones flushed blue and he laughed awkwardly, scratching his cheek. “right. sorry.” He looked up into the sky, eventually spotting the constellation.  
“ah, right there right? ‘cuz the belt n stuff.”

“Yeah!” you encouraged him, “It’s a lot different trying to find it in the sky than in a book, isn’t it? At least Orion’s easy to spot.” You brought him in close so he could see you trace the stars for him.  
“See because the belt is really bright, so you can see the rest from there, see? Over there’s his bow, according to greek myth, he’s shooting at Scorpius, which is why you never see them in the sky at the same time.”

“huh, that’s kinda neat.”

“I’ll get you a book on greek mythology and an astronomy book sometime. Got a birthday coming up?”  
He looked at you in mild surprise, like he hadn’t expected you to ask something like that. Maybe it was the gift thing, you two were friends still. Well, you knew he was hoping for a bit more, and so were you, but you supposed he wasn’t expecting stuff like that. You just shrugged reassuringly.  
“You’re my roommate, I gotta get you  _ something. _ ”

“oh, right uh.” He scratched his cheek again, still a bit blue in the face. “late may, paps usually remembers exactly when better than me.”

“You don’t remember your own birthday?”  
He shrugged and made a noncommittal grunt, looking back to the sidewalk. You paused and thought about it for a moment, but eventually you just smiled and nudged him.  
“That’s a couple of months off at least, I’ll ask your bro when it’s closer ‘til. Come on big guy, we’re almost to the bar strip.”

Sans blinked back to the present, dim eyes lighting up at your question. He coughed and nodded, tugging you lightly as he started to shuffle in that direction. You followed after him, still holding his hand, as he muttered a sorry under his breath.

For a while into the bar district, things between you two were quiet, and you suddenly felt bad about mentioning his birthday. Being made and not born... yeah, you’re not surprised it’s not something he remembers too much.

And so you’re content with the quiet for now, passing by strangers who give you and him funny looks. You couldn’t be bothered too much anymore, now your attention was solely on him. That’s how it’s supposed to go on a date anyways, right?

~———————~

Truth be told, it wasn’t really because Sans had been grown in a lab that caused him to forget his birthday. He’d been reminded of it plenty after Papyrus had been added to the picture and he’d finally been treated like a son.

It was everything after the accident, after losing so many people. It was falling into somewhere dark, trying to forget that night. It was the endless resets that made him think that he’d never even  _ have _ another birthday. One tends to forget little things like that when you’re in an endless loop of about two weeks.

He should be happy about this, but all it’s doing is bringing up sour memories.

You and him are about halfway through the strip to Grillby’s when you nudge him again, once fucking again bringing him to the present. He silently cursed at himself for drifting off again, he needed to work on that issue.

“Doing ok? We can go back and have a movie night if you want.”

“oh uh, sorry.” he scratched his cheek again, putting on his usual smile. “i’m good. grillbz is still good.”

You leaned a bit to look him in the eyes tilting your head with genuine concern.

“You sure? I know a fake smile when I see one Sans, we don’t have to-”

You were cut off by a whistle, and your shoulders immediately stiffened. 

Sans snapped out of his moping state without a blink, brows furrowing into a scowl as you both looked towards the nearest bar. It was one of those kinds with no doors, and there was a man at the counter who was clearly trying to get your attention. You stood up straight and pointed at yourself. He nodded, gesturing for you to come to him.

“Come on over, beautiful! Would you like a drink?”

Sans growled a low growl, standing up straight and moving out where the stranger could see him.   
“this guy bothering you, sweetheart?”  
There was a sick pleasure out of seeing him pale, but it seemed to be for naught. The human regained himself and laughed, clapping his neighbor on the back.

“Ho-lee shit. She’s with one of them  _ freaks! _ ” He gestured to you again, “Come on baby, you can do better than that thing. Sit up here!”

Sans bristled, but you quickly put a hand on his shoulder. There was still a fire and a snarl, but he wouldn’t start a scene if you were going to stop him. You leaned over close, turning your head so the patrons couldn’t see you speak.   
“I’ll handle this, just give me space real quick.”

“you sure?” he growled back, but you were already putting on a delightful smile and heading into the bar.  
Sans cursed quietly, then moved after you to lean against the nearby wall. He put his smile back on, pretending to relax. He trusted you with, well, whatever fight you were inevitably going to start. There was no dragging you away now unless he used teleportation magic... Yeah, not a good idea with so many people around.

 

“Only if it’s whisky, sir~”

Sans blinked, and the corner of his mouth twitched. You’d switched dialects to Scottish, fluttering your eyes all the while. Whatever you had planned, he was interested in seeing how it went.  
The stranger just laughed again, turning to the bartender.  
“You heard the lady, shot of whiskey on me!”  
The bartender gave you a look, then him a nod, and poured out your drink. You took it with a smile before the stranger could, and he went right back to talking.  
“So what part a’ Europe are you from? Ain’t heard your accent before.”

“Scotland,” you said cheerfully. “Most of the family’s back there, but I wanted to see all th’ fuss at Ebott! Monsters are such charming people, aren’t they?”

He snorted, and Sans’ eyes narrowed slightly.  
“Hah! Yeah, if ya like them freaks, guess this is the place to go! Though in my opinion they oughta go back to their mountain and leave us decent folk in peace.”

Sans bristled again, but you kept calm, giving him a laugh.

 

“You think so?”

 

“I rightly do,” he said, side eyeing the skeleton with a smug little smile. “‘Sides, his company’s probably shit. If ya wanna have a good time, well--” He started moving to put a hand on your thigh. Sans was ready to step in right there for so much as touching you, but you just grabbed the man’s arms and laughed.

“You really think I can’t tell shite company from good? Well, I have some thoughts.” You squeezed his arm hard and he yelped in pain. “First off, the only shite company around here is you, and secondly-” You twisted his arm in a way that was visibly painful, your voice rose as he yelped louder, “-you don’t go touching girls without them askin’, and third!”

“Fuckin monster freak fuckin bitch,” he spat, interrupting you. That only fueled the fire, and Sans almost winced when he saw you lose all interest in being nice.   
You grabbed his hair with your free hand and smashed it into the counter with a crack that could only indicate a broken nose and (hopefully) a concussion. You let go of his twisted arm and let him fall to the floor, getting off your seat to stand over him.

“AND THIRD. YOU DON’T CALL MY BOYFRIEND A FREAK. YOU DON’T CALL ANY OF THEM FREAKS. YOU DON’T FUCK WITH THEM, YOU DON’T FUCK WITH ME, UNDERSTAND?”  
The man was on the floor half passed out, but a quiet whimpering groan was enough to visibly satisfy you. You calmed immediately, grabbing the whiskey from the counter and downing it in one go. You looked around the now silent bar with challenge in your eyes.  
“Anyone else got a fucking problem?” There was no response. “Good.”  
You fished in a pocket for your wallet, procuring a ten dollar bill and placing it on the counter.  
“This should cover the damage. Make sure he pays for that whiskey, Andy.”

The barman sighed, Sans almost stuttered something in shock, and you gave him a friendly, calm wave as you went back to him. You looped your arm with his and went back to the accent he was familiar with.

“Come on, we’re done here.”

“oh, uh. k.”

And so you two were back to walking, with Sans now impressed with your, oh what’s the human phrase? Balls of steel? That was the one, yeah. His thoughts were interrupted by your quiet voice.

“Sorry about that, Sans. Uh... Also, can we get some water at Grillby’s? My entire mouth and throat are burning from that whiskey.”

He laughed at that. “wait did you just do that to act tough for me?”

“I don’t even like whiskey,” you whimpered. Sans just laughed harder, shoulders shaking.

“holy shit. babe, that was awesome,” he laughed, “i’m gonna get you like, five glasses of water.”

“ _ Please. _ ” you said, seemingly ignoring the pet name he’d let slip. He just laughed and nudged you, taking you on your merry way to that date you’d been meaning to get to for a while now.

“so you know the barman there?”

“He’s the only one on the block who doesn’t water down his drinks...”

“...k. so let’s make that six glasses of water, then.”

~———————~

It was about seven-thirty by the time you two finally sat down at a reserved booth at Grillby’s.

Your mouth was still burning from the whiskey, and Sans, bless him, he’d made sure you had water to cool it down before you could even look at the menu. Of course he didn’t get you six glasses like he’d jokingly promised, but it was the thought that counted, right?

Luckily, you two were already sold on what to get, so ordering was well and done and the two of you had some cold ciders to go with the eventual food. Burger with extra cheese and no onions for you, burger with everything for Sans. With the easy stuff out of the way, you two had time before the food arrived to talk... And... wow, you’d forgotten how awkward first dates were. What did you even talk about? You knew a lot about each other already, so you couldn’t do ice breakers, and frankly just the fact that you were on a date felt... weird. Thankfully, Sans was good at icebreaking.

“so. boyfriend, huh?” He waggled his brows at you and you went slightly pink, crossing your arms.

“Give it until the end of the date, loverboy. We’ll see.”

“what, i haven’t charmed the pants off of you already?” He winked at you. You laughed.

“Nobody can get my pants off, good sir, either that or nobody’s been cool enough for me to let them, not sure. Pants are still firmly on though.” You patted your leg for emphasis. “See? Still fully clothed.”

“i guess it de-pants on how you’re feeling about the swing.”

Oh god, that pun was terrible, you had to snort and laugh at it.

“Yeah, it does. Still not keen on jumping on it yet. I’ll save that for nice guys like you.”

You took a drink, a question floating off of your tongue.

“Speaking of, you don’t have to answer this but like, what’s your status on the swing?”

Sans paused, cheeks getting slightly blue. He had to think about that apparently, visibly tapping the table as he pondered it.

“well, most of the monsters i’ve seen are girls, but, yanno, gender’s not really a huge deal for us, you like who you like, you know? monsters move pretty fast with relationships.”  
You nodded along, monsters were sounding more and more appealing by the second.  
“so uh. you know those giant swing rides that spin you around n’ stuff? guess that’s sorta what mine’s like. i gravitate to girls, but i’m not gonna turn down other people if they’re cool.”

You nodded along with him as he spoke, absorbing his words quietly as he explained. You could get behind that, everybody had their preferences, and his stance was a lot more welcoming than most people... well, most  _ humans _ . Monsters sounded like they slightly had their shit together better than your kind did. It’s a nice change of pace to hear, that’s for sure.

“I can respect that,” you said when he was done, a mischievous grin growing on your face.  “Now here’s a better question; got any ‘crazy ex’ stories?”

He looked at you quizzically, tilting his head.

“seriously?”

“Sure!” You said, “You said you’ve dated lots of monsters, you must have broken it off with at least one of them because they scared you off. For example, I once dated this one guy named Jacob.” You leaned in, resting your elbows on the table. “Really nice guy, right? We got along and had similar opinions on stuff, then one day he invited me over to play Smash Bros with him, and it turns out the guy has like, twenty tarantulas.”

“twenty?!”

You nodded. “Twenty, and holy shit half of them were bigger than my damn face, the guy managed to raise them from eggs to be fucking huge. I was freaking out by that point, but he not only brushed that off, but he took one of them out of its tank and tried to hand it to me. I got the hell out of there, and he moved away about a month later.”

Sans laughed at that as you shuddered at the memory. Arachnids weren’t your thing, and  _ man, _ remembering seeing one of those things outside the tank would haunt you for the rest of your life. When your skeleton date came back from his chuckle-fest, he seemed fully relaxed, and he too leaned in as Grillby came over with your orders.

“k, so, i once knew this reptile monster that  _ really _ liked taxidermy.”

And so the night went on like that. The two of you regaled tales to each other, laughed, and commented and enjoyed your food without too much of a thought to anybody who might be watching or listening. Sans told you about the time he stuck something up to thirty hotdogs onto Frisk, that human ambassador the monsters loved to chat about. You shared a story about something you and your family regarded as the “Bee Incident”.

The best thing about the date was, well, it didn’t  _ feel _ like a date. You were comfortable and in your own skin, talking was easy and the both of you were opening up a lot... well, you felt like he wasn’t letting on to as much about his past as you, but to be fair, you were pretty sure it was the sort of stuff that could make a nice night go south pretty fast. Aside from that, you were getting along, and getting along well. This whole thing felt like you’d done this before a number of times with him, and you loved every moment.

You could do this again, you could do this again ten thousand times and never get tired of the handsome skeleton sitting across from you.

When you were both ready to leave, you called Grillby over to pay for the meal. When you set down everything plus a tip, he crackled and sparked. He looked over to Sans and raised a brow, adjusting his glasses as he said something you couldn’t quite pick up. Your buddy seemed to understand, because he chuckled nervously, standing to leave.

“yup, you’re right grillbz.”

He took another long swig of ketchup out of a bottle while you stood and thanked Grillby, which got you an amused crackle in return. Then you were off, skeleton in tow, and this time you were happy to let him teleport you two home. You stood right inside the doors, so no human outside could see his magic, and you hugged onto him as he gave a few familiar patrons a wave goodbye. Another pull of magic and short feeling of falling later, and you touched down in the apartment.

Papyrus and Mettaton were asleep on the couch, leaning on each other as a long cable coming from the robot’s chassis charged his body up from the nearest socket. To your amusement, Lucy had decided to make his lap into her bed. You turned to Sans and put a finger to your lips, still keeping an arm around him.

“So,” you said in a low, quiet voice, “what did Grillby say back there?”

He gave you this sheepish smile, blushing a bit.

“he said ‘keep her, she actually pays her tab’.”

If you weren’t worried about waking the other people in the room, you would have laughed. Instead, you just let out a huff of amusement.

“Sounds like somebody doesn’t do that.”

“guilty as charged.”

You both smiled at each other, unable to speak above mutterings and whispers. You worried your lower lip for a moment, pondering and thinking about what to say next. After a moment, you moved away from him and held both his hands in yours, looking up into his eye sockets.

“Thanks for the date, Sans, I haven’t had a nice one like that in a long time...”

“me too,” he said softly. You just worried your lip again before looking up at him.

“So uh... I guess this is the part where I kiss your cheek for the good time.”

“only if you want to,” he said.

“I kinda do,” you replied, and you leaned up to do so, pressing your lips against smooth bone.

You stood back and watched for a reaction, but he mostly just seemed pleased with himself, if not still a little blue in the face.

“We should... we should do this again, like... seriously. I could use a boyfriend like you.”

You blushed as he stared dumbfounded. You quietly wondered if you’d asked him out in the right way, but your worries were set aside when he moved forward to hug you. He was warm and plush and he pressed his mouth to your cheek as you’d done to him, but instead of tooth, you felt his malleable mandibles instead. So he  _ could _ kiss without teeth after all... well, sort of. He still didn’t have lips, just sorta... bone... lips?

Yeah, try not to think about it, Adelaide. Monsters are weird.

You sighed, and eventually he let go of you, rubbing his arm a little.

“that’d be nice. you’re a really cool human.”

“Yeah, I-cy that you’re a pretty cool skeleton, now. Muffet’s Bakery for a lunch date sometime?”

“cold be a good time, just say when and we’ll go.”

“I’ll let you know, bonehead.”

There was another long, awkward silence, and he gave you a tiny smile. He yawned, patting your shoulder as he turned to leave.

“night, addy. see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight....”

You stood in the dark, watching his large form leave and disappear into the darkness of his room. This was a nice night, this was a  _ really _ nice night... Even with that one prick who was now nursing a broken nose...

A glint caught your eye, and you looked into the living room. Mettaton’s eyes were open and looking at you with a know-it-all smile. He’d seen and heard everything. You blushed and hid your face, peeking out between fingers with a goofy grin. He just gave you a thumbs up and then went back to charging, closing his eyes. You got the hell out of there before Papyrus decided to wake up and start talking about how he’d seen everything too, you didn’t think you could take much more.

You washed your face, changed out of your clothes and crawled into bed, staring up at the ceiling.

You’d just asked a skeleton out. Your roommate the skeleton was now your  **boyfriend** the skeleton. You couldn’t sleep for the longest time because you couldn’t stop thinking about it, thinking about him. He respected your space and didn’t get weird with you (except with ketchup. gross.), he was good looking despite being all bone. He’s warm, he’s funny, and even though you know he’s hurting, he’s still putting himself out there to spend time with you, and you secretly pray that you’re helping him somehow.

  
This all just felt right, and you fell asleep thinking of boney hands in yours, of teeth against your cheek and forehead, and of a dark chocolate laugh that made you melt, ever so slightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Bother Me!](http://zonbiconbi.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
> This chapter kicked my ass ten ways to sunday.
> 
> ALSO! I'm currently in a writing class for the summer, so updates might be slower than usual (for example, this chapter)
> 
> ~Lusey


	17. SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Undyne get drinks.
> 
> You probably overshare

“Alright Addy. Spill it.”

  
Undyne added twenty pounds more than you could lift onto the barbells, essentially trapping you on the bench as she stood over you. You tried to give the weights a good lift just in case, but it was no use, and you saw a gleam in her eye.

Monday had arrived before you’d noticed, and and you found yourself being hounded by Undyne during your after-class gym sessions. How was your weekend? Did Sans and Papyrus behave themselves? Oh, by the way, Mettaton visited! Did he try to put you in a dress? He totally tried to put you in a dress, didn’t he?

You knew she was skirting around a bigger question, and you were skirting around answering any of hers. Occasionally she’d remember this was training time and bark some orders to do more squats or to reach further with those crunches. Of course, now you were trapped, so there wouldn’t be much use in avoiding her any more.

 

“Spill what, Undyne?”

Her toothy grin got wider. “The date, nerd! You went on a date with a special mutual friend. And a metal bird told me that you two got all smoochy.”

She made kissy noises at you while you scrunched up your face, going a little red. You looked away and frowned.

“Mettaton...”

“Yup!” she laughed, “He told me  _ everything. _ Buying you an outfit, seeing you two make goo goo eyes at each other, and  _ kissing _ .”

“We did not--” people were staring at you, so you toned yourself down to a hiss. “We did not kiss. Unless cheeks count now.”

Your friend and trainer squealed, garnering you further attention that had you turning tomato red.

“I knew it I knew it I knew it! Holy shit you gotta tell me all the details. You KISSED HIM!!!”

 

Everybody in the free weights area was staring now, even some people on the nearby treadmills had looked up from their music to investigate the commotion. You just lay there, trapped and embarrassed, silently asking yourself why you can’t have friends with indoor voices. With a show of strength (and extreme strain), you pushed the barbell up so you could place it on a higher rack, freeing you. Your muscles screamed from the exertion, but it seemed to get everybody to go back to their own things.

 

You sat up at eyed your fish friend with a scowl, and she just grinned like the cat that caught the canary... or would it be the shark that caught the salmon?

 

“Well... I think I’m done with workouts for the day.”

You stood up and brushed off your pants, and her expression fell a bit.

“Aw come on, you haven’t done any cardio or leg stuff!”

You shrug. “Let’s make Wednesday a leg day, then. Come on, I need food.”

She perked up immediately. It sure didn’t take much, did it?

“Ooh you should go out with me for drinks! Have you ever had monster alcohol? I dunno how it’d work on humans though, but I bet it’s gonna be pretty cool!”

Your face fell flat, a slight frown on your face.

“You  _ do _ realize I have class tomorrow too, right?”

“Your class is in the  _ evening _ ,” she said back, “if you get a hangover, you’ll have all day to sleep it off. You tryin to wimp out on me or something?”

 

You narrowed your eyes, trying to square up despite being more than a foot shorter than her.

“Was that a challenge, Undyne?”

Her grin grew wide. “It might have been. What’re you gonna do about it, punk?”

There was a short moment where you considered biting the bullet and turning down the offer... but a challenge like that, from her, to  _ you? _ Oh you couldn’t back down, and you hadn’t had a proper drinking night in a while.

“I’m gonna get my shit and then food... and  _ then _ drinks.”

 

Her eye gleamed and she whooped, following after you as you went to the locker room to get out of your gym clothes.

 

A quick change and a walk across the street later, and you and Undyne were looking through the evening selection at the school cafeteria. You were lucky this college gave a damn about the food they were serving, because things looked pretty appetizing to your post-workout brain.

Undyne, of course, went over to the tiny sushi station with her credit card and an excited grin that had the chefs looking nervous. You were safer with your choices. Just a sandwich from the deli (with lots of ham and mayo) and a lot of water. You sat and waited for a little bit, seeing that she was still busy with an order.

It didn’t take long for you to notice two other familiar monsters coming in from their classes, and you waved out at two of your classmates in excitement. Bud and Elsie came rushing over with their trays, big silly grins on their face.

 

“Addy!!!”

“Hey girl, how you doing?”

They sat down across from you, and you smiled through a full mouthful of ham sandwich. You took a moment to get it all down, then spoke up.

“All good here! Monster roommates are working out well, training’s good, and my research paper for our next assignment’s just about done.”

“Wait,” Elsie started, spines twitching on her head, “when’s that due? I haven’t even picked out an artist!”

Bud barked a laugh and nudged her in the side.

“Yer good, aint for another week n’ a half. Aint that right Addy?”

You put your thumb up and nodded to him. “Right on. I’m just ahead of schedule ‘cuz I got other shit planned.”

 

Bud got this sly look on his face, putting his head in his paws and leaning forward.

“Got some dates, darlin’? Uncle L.D. said he spotted ya with a certain lil’ skeleton.”

You paled, then flushed, and he grinned with all his teeth on display, waggling his furry brows.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Ya got good taste, that boy sure is handsome.”

 

Elsie’s spines started twitching again, and she stared at you in shock. “Wait, are you talking about  _ Sans? _ ”

“You know Sans?” You queried, she nodded and smiled with growing excitement.

“Oh my gosh everybody who lived in Snowdin knew him! It was a small town you know. He was, like, super into pranks and jokes. I didn’t live in Snowdin myself, but my lil cousin Kid did, mostly because he managed to photobomb all of their pictures!”

“That’s my Sans,” you laughed between bites.

Bud just grinned and Elsie’s eyes got bigger and sparklier. “So are you dating that goofball? Like, for realsies?”

“For realsies, just confirmed it last Saturday.”

She squealed and grabbed your hands, bouncing in her seat with excitement.

“Oh my gosh oh my gosh you two are  _ perfect  _ for each other! I haven’t even seen you two together and I can tell. Oh my gosh you gotta let me take some pics for my next photo project! The professor will go bananas!”

 

You’d forgotten how excitable Elsie was, and it took Bud’s calming paws pulling her back to get her to tone back her zeal.

“Easy, girl. It’s a bit early to be taking couple pics, aint it?”

 

The lizard-girl blinked slowly enough that you saw her secondary eyelids, and her hangdog expression was enough to make your heart twinge with a bit of guilt. She looked to you, twiddling her scaley thumbs.

“Yeah... sorry Addy. I just get, yanno, super duper carried away n stuff.”

“Still better than most freshmen!” You laughed. “I’ll get back to you on pictures once the bonehead and I are more used to the dating stuff.”

Her green eyes lit up with pure joy, and if Bud didn’t still have a paw on her shoulder, you were sure she would’ve leapt across the table to hug you.

“Oh my gosh thank you!!! That’s so sweet, I gotta see if your colors compliment each other well for myself!”

“Our... colors?”

 

So, like, auras or something? You didn’t think monsters knew about human metaphysics. Well, unless they came up with it in the first place, who really knew who started that movement after all? She just nodded her head like she couldn’t contain her energy.

“Yeah your colors! I mean it all comes down to shade, but I always loved warm and cool together and--”

 

“These punks bothering you, kid?”

The monsters froze as Undyne came up behind them, carrying a plate topped with nothing but salmon and tuna sashimi. Once they realized that it was Undyne and not an antagonistic human, they both relaxed... Well, Bud relaxed, obviously knowing her through his Royal Guard relatives... Elsie, on the other hand....

 

“OH MY GOSH UNDYNE!”

 

Undyne looked a little taken aback, but she squinted her good eye and then grinned all her angler teeth at your photo friend.

“Oh hey, you gotta be related to that Kid, right?”

“Oh my GOSH can I get some pictures? Kid is going to lose their mind!!!”

“Of course,” Undyne replied, handing her plate to you. “Put this down next to your tray, will ya?”

You gingerly took the plate and set it next to your half eaten sandwich, sitting back with a laugh as Elsie got out some special equipment for her phone. Undyne, of course, flexed her big beefy arms.

 

“So how’s the lil punk doing? Doing well in school?”

Elsie snapped a photo. “Of course! They have classes with Frisk now, you know. Those two are total besties.”

“Good,” Undyne smirked, striking another pose. “‘Lil punks need to stick together, you know?”

She pulled Elsie in close and struck another pose, complete with peace sign. “Okay, now we get a selfie for proof.”

She just made a tiny “eeeee” noise and quickly adjusted all her phone equipment for the job, snapping three or four pictures before giving Undyne a tight hug.

“Thank you SO MUCH. This is going to make lil Kid’s day! Oh my gosh.”

 

“That’s seven ‘oh my goshes’.” Bud chuckled, “Think we’ll get a eighth in before she remembers her food?”

 

“OH MY GOSH MY FOOD!”

 

“And there it is!”

 

You and bud laughed while she put her short attention back on her meal, completely oblivious to Bud’s teasing and jests.

 

At that point, the fish monster had made her way to where you'd set down her tray, and had managed to devour about half of the generous helping of sushi. You and Bud chatted away, your meals having been wolfed (heh, wolfed) down while Elsie had bombarded your gym trainer with pictures. She texted between bites, and you idly checked the time when Undyne had all but licked her plate. About six-oh-four, you’d been chatting for a while, hadn’t you? You nudged your friend lightly in the side, and she nodded to you knowingly. She stretched out and stood up, putting her hands on her hips.

“I’d love to hang out with you punks a bit more, but Addy and I have some drinking to do.”

Elsie looked ready to say something, but Undyne interjected with a toothy grin.

“And I know for a fact that you kids aren’t legal yet, so I’m gonna have to steal the human from you two.”

“Few more months,” she muttered under her breath, pouting a big lizard pout as Bud patted her shoulder.

 

Well, seeing how that energy manifested while drunk would be a spectacle, that’s for sure. You were standing now too, bag over your shoulder and tray in your hands to deliver to the nearest deposit station. Elsie leapt up to give you a hug when you moved to leave.

“Have fun, girl! Give Sansy some hugs n kisses for me for you, okay?”

Undyne guffawed when you turned a little pink, but you squeezed your noodly thin friend back.

“Will do, see you tomorrow!”

You and Undyne left, and you could hear Bud call out over the thinking crowds as you reached the door.

“Try not to get too wasted, ‘kay?”

“I’ll try!” you shouted back, and you waved at each other.

 

You were out the doors, breathing in the crisp evening air, and looking to your friend expectantly.

“So where are we going?” You queried.

Undyne scratched the back of her head and shrugged, looking a little guilty.

“‘Kay so I know you were  _ just _ there with your nerdy skeleton boyfriend on saturday, but we’re going to Grillby’s.”

 

“That’s not a problem, you just lead the way.”

 

She rebounded at your words, and scooped you up for a tight hug that left you out of breath. 

“AWESOME!”

She set you down, and you felt a little dizzy from the lack of air.

“Come on punk, let’s get wasted~”

 

~———————~

 

Grillby didn’t seem all that surprised to see you in tow when Undyne dragged you up to the last two seats up at the bar. In fact, the most he did to you was raise a brow, as if to ask what you were doing back so soon.

Undyne was making passing conversation with a couple of patrons she seemed to know from her old job, giving you time to look over a drinks menu that the bartender had slipped under your hand.

 

Mulling over the menu, you realized something. You had no idea what some of these concoctions were. You nudged Undyne to get her attention, feeling a bit embarrassed that you didn’t ask about this ahead of time.

“Hey... okay so... I have no idea what any of these monster cocktails taste like.”

She rolled her eye and snorted, ruffling your hair.

“Well DUH. That’s why we’re here and not at some human bar, nerd!”

 

You scowled and fixed your hair, looking over the menu again while you ran your fingers through the tousled purple strands.

“Well you’re going to have to tell me what they taste like, or like, what they do. These names on the basics are pretty... uh, basic.”

You looked back to her with a raised brow.

“I mean, ‘patience’? ‘Integrity?’ I don’t get it.”

 

She laughed at you, or, well, at your ignorance of monster things, then pointed at the menu.

 

“Okay punk so like, those basic seven are like, based off magic, and they’re generally made to simulate that trait. So like. Uh.” She scratched her forehead for a moment. “Ok. Best way to put this....” she suddenly snapped her fingers, wrapping an arm around you so that your focus was directed to each of the cocktail names.

 

“Okay so it’s like this. Each monster has a certain colored magic, right? My magic’s sorta blueish greenish, but it’s definitely green, even if I can learn light blue magic.”

She pointed at the ‘Kindness’ cocktail, and you tried to keep up.

“So the magic you make naturally? That reflects your strongest trait and your color. So my color and my magic are green, so my main trait is Kindness! But--” She raised her finger to pause, then pointed at ‘Patience’. “My magic is blueish green, like an algae or ocean sorta blue-green, right? So because of that, my secondary trait would be ‘Patience’. It’s kinda bullshit, I know, but that’s why it’s secondary.”

 

“Yeah,” you laughed, “nothing about you is patient in the slightest.”

 

“Hey! I can be patient when I want to be!” She puffed up a bit and thumped her chest. “A good warrior waits for the best time to strike you know. I bet I could be more patient than you!”

“I bet,” you said, not falling for her challenge trap. You looked down at the seven magic cocktails. There were a few other specialties that caught your eye, but you were curious about these the most.

“Okay so like, each one reflects a different magic and a different trait, right?”

“Yeah! You learn fast, punk!”

You looked at the traits again, pondering them while looking over the short descriptors for each. Eventually, you picked your first drink of the night.

 

“Alright, let’s go with Kindness.”

 

“Hah! I knew you liked me.” She winked at you and shouted over to the fire elemental.

“Hey Grillby! Two Kindness Cocktails!”

 

Grillby’s flames crackled slightly, and he fixed a look first on you, then your fishy friend. He inclined his head in your direction. Undyne just shook her head.

“No human stuff. We’re getting all sciency and shit. I wanna see how monster alcohol affects her!”

His flames crackled and he crossed his arms. Undyne replied again.

“She said yes before she got here, she can’t back down from the challenge now!”

 

He gave her a prolonged stare, but with the tiniest glance to you, he just pushed up his glasses on his nose and started grabbing various bottles from the display on the back. You watched him mix, shake, and eventually set the green concoction on fire. You nearly jumped back when he slid you the still flaming glasses, but the fire disappeared within moments, and despite everything, the glass and drink felt cool. The liquid was green like a jolly rancher candy, bubbling and fizzing slightly. You picked up the glass with Undyne, and brought it close. It smelled like mint and basil, and the fizzy pops tickled your nose. You gave Undyne a look, and you both smiled.

 

One. Two Three. Drink!

 

While it smelled like basil and mint, the flavor was anything but! It tasted... Oh gosh, how could you describe the taste? More than anything, it was sour apple soda, with a alcoholic punch that reminded you of lime tequila... but beneath that? It tasted... it tasted like a smile. The taste reminded you of sharing fresh fruit with strangers at lunchtime, of seeing the smile on the faces of friends when you brought them gifts.

 

“Undyne,” you finally said, “oh my god. This is great. This is so nice, thank you.”

You had a grin that you were sure would leave your cheeks sore, and she just smiled back, seemingly less affected by the drink... Though perhaps it was because her color was naturally just green. 

“Undyne,” you continued. “I need to give Sans a hug when I get home. And Papyrus too, but mostly Sans. He’s hurting and he needs to know somebody cares, okay?”

 

You hadn’t really meant to blurt that out loud, but Undyne’s mouth stretched into a big stupid smile.

“Hah! You really do love him, don’t you?”

 

You weren’t even close to drunk, let alone drunk enough for this.

“No!” is what you wanted to say, to deny that maybe you were already seriously hopelessly helplessly in love with a guy you’ve known for like, two months or something?

 

Instead, you said “I don’t know. But I care a lot.”

You sighed, feeling the downer side that alcohol was known for.

“Like, I dunno. It’s a bit early for love, right? The official dating stuff is new but like. We became friends so fast, we’re pretty comfortable with each other, and it feels. Shit, I don’t know, familiar I guess? In a good way I mean!”

You looked down at your empty glass, remembering through your rambling that kindness wasn’t all joy, it was sending gifts to your relatives in the hospital, taking your cat to the vet when she’d first gotten sick, it was putting the needs of others before your own, even when you were hurting.

“We’re both messed up,” you said finally. “But I don’t think I deserve him.”

 

Confused, she turned you in your seat to face her, giving you a look, scrutinizing your face. To her, you probably looked sad as hell, and you were feeling it a bit too, even if everything you said was out of care for everybody.

“Don’t deserve  _ him? _ ”

 

You laughed. “Well yeah. Didn’t you know? Apparently I’m broken.”

 

“Wait seriously?!” She turned you left and right, looking at you closely from all angles. “Do you need a doctor? Doctors make humans not broken right? Shit, Sans is gonna kill me.”

“No, no, not like that!” you assured her, holding her arms with all the kindness that the alcohol made you feel. You smiled sweetly, even if you were oversharing.

“I mean like. I’m asexual and shit. And like, the uh, third person I ever dated? When I didn’t want to sleep with her after a few months of us getting close and doing all that couple shit? She said there was something wrong with me. And shit, seeing how many people I’ve lost as friends, as dates, all that jazz. They gotta be right, right?”

You sighed, grip on her arms loosening.

“Sans has already been in a  _ lot _ of relationships. Most of them with people who weren’t broken like me. He’s gonna want to get to that point like everybody else, and I’m going say no and he’s gonna... He’s gonna feel bad, because he’s gonna think I don't feel the same way, cuz that’s what everybody’s raised to think, you know?”

Your head drooped a bit, and you looked one last time at the empty glass next to yours.

“I couldn’t do that to him.”

 

Undyne wrestled her arms from you and put her hands on your shoulders, giving you a strong look, something fierce and protective that felt like the stare of somebody who’s friend had just been insulted.

“Holy fuck, monster alcohol  _ really _ affects you guys... GRILLBY!” she shouted to the bartender. “Justice shot ASAP! We’ve got a sad human that needs to feel better about themselves!”

 

You looked up at him with a mopey look, and he seemed to incline his head to a nod, making the next drink. Undyne shook you slightly to get your attention.

“Punk, er, Buddy. Addy. You are  _ not _ broken. So what if you don’t like mashing parts with people? Those jackasses that made you feel like shit? They didn’t deserve your time if they can’t accept you for who and what you are.”

 

The kindness cocktail was starting to wear off, and her words were getting to you more and more. You looked at her, still a bit sad, but a lot better. The drink was kindness, but it was all the sad things that came with caring for others as well. Her grip on you tightened, her fixed stare trained on every change in your expression.

“If I ever catch somebody calling you shit because of how you define yourself, they’re gonna wish they weren’t born. You’re my bestie, okay? You’re super tough and you’re super caring about us monsters, and nobody here’s gonna give you shit. And if Sans gives you shit, he’ll regret it. Come here!”

She pulled you into a crushing hug, and even though you knew the drinks had a little to do with it, you appreciated gesture. She pulled apart from you, taking the yellow drink Grillby handed to her and put it in front of you.

 

“Drink up. It’ll make you feel better about yourself.”

 

“Oh, ok.”

 

You looked at the drink. This was less fizzy, and was more golden like a whiskey. Down the hatch it went, and you coughed at it’s abrasive flavor. It was sharp and precise and tasted of pineapples and sweet cream, but with all the burn of bourbon. It tasted like a punch at the school bully in seventh grade, it was the sound of sirens and cheering crowds and the smell of a tornado sweeping across an empty field.

 

Frankly, a shot was all you needed, because all at once you clung to her words of fighting people that made you feel worthless and broken.

“Damn you’re right. Also that drink just gave me some serious mood whiplash.”

You set the shot glass down and laughed humorlessly.

“Carol was a complete bitch. Did you know I fucking broke somebody’s arm when they got handsy with me? It was like, the fourth date. He deserved it.”

You said it proudly, you said it like you knew what was right and knew that, yes, there had been justice done. Monster alcohol sure packed a punch, that was for sure. You shook your head and cleared it, fuzzier thoughts becoming sharp as you realized how many things you’d been blathering on about.

“Okay also, magic is some serious shit, isn’t it? Because it’s making me say a lot of personal crap.”

“Actually, that’s probably just the alcohol getting rid of your filters. The magic just makes certain thoughts come up, stuff you’ve thought of already or thought of a lot.”

 

That... yeah, getting it explained to you made sense, and you blinked, feeling a tiny bit fuzzy in the head. You smiled.

“That makes sense. You’re not gonna tell any of them that I said any of that though, right?”

“Course not!” she said, “that shit’s for you to tell him, I have no place there. And that goes for any of you guys with Sans’ number.”

She looked around the bar with an accusatory glare, even fixing it on Grillby at one point, who just mixed another drink for her. When she was sure people were staying in their lanes, she looked back to you.

“Feeling better?”

 

“Hell yeah,” you said proudly. “That shot was super good, but I’m actually angry now too. Because no okay I’m not broken, but the people who think I am can crawl in a hole and stay there, okay? I’m so fucking done with people treating people bad because they’re different, you know.”

“Don’t I know it!” Undyne laughed, patting you on the back.  “I’m a monster  _ and _ a raging lesbian. You humans normally can’t even handle that second one without losing your minds!”

“Undyne, if anybody that tries to give you shit for either of those, then they’re gonna catch my hands.”

“How can they catch them? They're not even detachable!”

 

You laughed long and hard, shaking as she just stared at you in confusion.

“No, oh my god, Undyne, it’s an expression. I think it means I’ll fight them.”

 

“Don’t start fighting until you’ve gotten some Bravery! One for me, one for you, I wanna see what you’re like when drunk and orange.”

“Aren't we going a bit fast?”

“Pfft. I said we’re getting wasted, didn't I?”

 

“Yeah but man... I wanna savor these. It feels wrong to just chug through them and get buzzed as quick as I have.”

“Holy shit you’re buzzed already?” She looked at you funny, as if looking for a telltale sign of inebriation. “But you don’t seem like it, aside from blurting random shit out.”

“I’m good at not looking drunk until I’m fucking smashed, it’s my special power.”

You winked at her and she guffawed with amusement. She motioned for Grillby yet again, who seemed to be used to Undyne’s quick drinking habits.

 

“Okay Grillby, two Bravery cocktails!”

His flames crackled, looking to you with borderline concern. You shrugged and he looked back to Undyne. Undyne shrugged too.

“She can handle it, come on. Drunk bravery is  _ always fun _ .”

 

He raised a brow, flames hissing slightly in a tone that sounded like he didn’t quite trust her words. He pulled out what he needed anyways, but he mixed near the two of you, and sometime during the process, he leaned in towards you and spoke in that hushed, silky voice of his.

“If you would rather a milder drink like Patience, just let me know.”

He inclined his head to Undyne and you could almost see his flames lower a bit.

“Don’t feel pressured, Adelaide.”

 

Did you blush? You probably blushed. Monsters were really good at being concerned for your wellbeing. If anybody asked, you’d totally blame it on the particularly potent alcohol. He waited patiently for your answer, and you wondered for a moment if light blue was his “color”, despite his (literal) fiery exterior. You just gave him a reassuring smile and a thumbs up.

“I appreciate it, Grillby. I’ll be fine with the Bravery.”

 

He was silent again, but you understood that that was just his way. So you sat back and he finished mixing the drinks, giving you a look at least once when he once again set the concoction on fire. This time, he left the flames there.

 

Guess you really needed to be brave to even touch the glass.

 

You did, of course, and the fire didn’t burn, but tingled like magic often did when you were around it, like a mild surge of static electricity that made your bones hum. You put the drink to your lips, gave Undyne a challenging look when you caught her eye, and took a drink.

It tasted like a screwdriver, all citrus and all vodka, but with a punch of lemon zest and something savory you couldn’t quite describe. It was keeping your eyes open at the top of a roller coaster, it was the smell of an ocean as you stood by the cliff’s edge, close enough to jump in and swim with friends below, and it made you... well, bolder.

You set down the drink and turned to Undyne, words spilling from your mouth like a broken floodgate.

 

“I’m thinking... Undyne seriously. I think when I get home, I’m finally going to kiss Sans, none of that cheek bullshit. I’m going to do it, and you’re totally taking pictures for proof.”

  
After that, you couldn’t remember much else of what you said, or what you did...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [BOTHER ME](http://zonbiconbi.tumblr.com/ask)


	18. Drunk Texts From Last Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the hangover episode. It even has goats and naps and EGGS tasty eggs

The first thing you realized when you woke up is that you were not in your own bed. It was a bed, sure, but the mattress was softer, the pillows were firmer and the sheets smelled of lemongrass.

The second thing you realized... Well, you didn't realize it, really it hit you like a sledgehammer.

You felt like your head was being crushed under an eighteen-wheeler. The moment you tried to open your eyes you groaned and cringed, shutting them tight as the tiny slivers of light from the nearby window tried to blind you. You could hear the quiet clamor of people outside the mystery room, and all at once you remembered that you’d been drinking last night.

 

Oh, well, fuck. Guess you’re having a hangover.

 

You groaned again, flipping over onto your side and curling up, unwilling to figure out where the hell you were. You’d gone out with Undyne for the night after gym, had some monster alcohol... Man, it tasted great, but you _knew_ you overshared some shit with her. The last thing you remember saying was...

Oh...

You shot up out of bed, clutching your throbbing head from the sudden rush as you brought your knees up to your chest in pain. When you managed to get your eyes open and adjusted, you looked around in search of clues to where you were.

 

You looked at yourself first, you were still clothed, though your shoes were off. You looked around at the dim room, noting the simple furniture and tasteful decorations. A few metal fish on the walls, a hotel-typical painting of the ocean... And, of course, the lemongrass smell was apparent to your nose. This couldn’t be your apartment, as there was no bathroom in sight. Of course that made sense, Papyrus’ room was the only you’d not seen after he’d moved in, though knowing him, there’d be no way his room would be as serene as this.

You wanted to go back to sleep and forget how shitty you felt... but.. Oh jesus, where was your phone? You had to contact the boys and let them know where you were; wherever that happened to be. You saw it on the nearby dresser. You walked over, turning it over to look at the screen. Of course, you hissed and recoiled from the light immediately, grabbing your head as the pain came back full force.

You clutched the phone in your hand, sitting down on the floor as nausea washed over you. As you sat there in the dark room, your ears focused in on the voices outside your room.

 

“I’m glad you could visit, b-but Undyne and her friend aren’t feeling too well.”

Ah, that was Alphys, wasn’t it? That was... relieving. So you _didn’t_ go home and make a fool of yourself. Granted, you still had time to figure out that second part.

“Yeah,” you heard Undyne grumble, “Grillby’s made a note to water down monster alcohol for humans from now on. Shit... ugh, babe, are there any eggs? I need eggs. I wanna make an omelette.”

“M-maybe we should see if Adelaide is up? M-monster food w-would be good for her.”

“Ah, perhaps we should allow her rest, Alphys?” You perked up a bit at that. That was a new voice, something calm and elegant and... soothing. You struggled to your feet and went closer to the door to listen a bit more. “I would hate to wake and subject her to the worst of her hangover.”

Okay, you had to know who that was on the other side of the door now. Despite protests of your body, you fumbled with the door handle and slowly creaked the door open, face scrunching up as the light hit you and doubled your headache.

 

Through your squinted eyes, you could make out a hallway to your right, and a wall to your left. There was another door closeby, and the light of the living room not too far from you. You shuffled out, phone still clutched in your hand, going towards the evil, evil light with unease. You made it, eventually, to the living room, and went unnoticed for a moment.

Undyne was at the table, head lowered and face groggy from a hangover akin to yours. She looked worse for wear, but much closer to recovery than you. Alphys was near a particularly comfy looking couch, still in pjs and chattering away with a monster you vaguely, almost recognized.

She was tall and graceful, her white fur was visibly silky and the smile on her face was nothing less than motherly. You were awestruck through your unpleasant state of being, and you caught her eye as she glanced up from the reptilian monster for a moment. Her red-brown eyes peered into yours, and her smile softened.

“I see you are awake. I apologize, did we wake you?”

You shook your head tiredly, walking out into the living room as the others looked up at you.

“No, ‘ve been awake for a while. Just,” you waved your hand vaguely, “trying not to feel terrible, you know? ‘M still figuring out what happened.”

You walked to the table and sat down across from Undyne. Now you were both together and looking miserable. You looked tiredly back to the goat monster with a weak smile.

 

“Adelaide, by the way. Crappy first impression from me, huh?”

 

She smiled at you warmly, but with enough pity that you noticed. She approached and put a big white paw on your shoulder.

“It is quite alright, my child. I am merely glad to see that you are in one piece.”

“That’s to be determined,” you grumbled. “I’ve got a killer headache....”

She laughed with all the sounds of tinkling bells, wholehearted and kind. “Yes, that does tend to happen. You and Undyne should sit tight, I will make you some breakfast. Some monster food should help with your head.”

Undyne perked up a great deal, looking up at the monster with a big golden eye. “Does that mean omelettes?”

The monster nodded, Undyne whooped for joy, and you groaned and clutched your head at the noise that was _way too goddamn loud._

“Undyne,” you growled, “for fuck’s sake.”

“Urgh, sorry.” She was clutching her head too, and you realized she was suffering from her outburst as well.

The goat woman by you just laughed and patted your head softly, light enough not to mess with your hair. When she left, your head went to the table, and your grip on your phone loosened slightly. You sat there silently for a moment, but eventually Alphys spoke up.

 

“S-sorry. Undyne c-called last night really drunk and I didn’t think it’d be good for you to go h-home in your state. Papyrus is very s-sweet, but...”

You adjusted your head so your chin was on the table, but you could look around. Alphys had pulled up a chair between you and Undyne, and was giving you an apologetic smile. You sighed and nodded, rubbing the bridge of your nose.

“He’s loud, yeah. It’s alright, Alphys. It was a good call. Did you let the boys know?”

She nodded at you, pulling out her phone as if for proof. “Y-yes. Sans already knew you were drinking though. H-he said to make sure y-you didn’t get into trouble.”

“Oh... shit he’s probably texted me a lot.” Your blood ran cold with a sudden thought. “Oh... sweet jesus. What did I text _him?!_ ”

“Oh, gosh. Oh-oh you should check. I’d h-hate to be in your shoes.” She wrung her wrists slightly, brows furrowing with worry and an anxiety you knew was only partially meant for you. “That’d be terrible. I-I’d die!”

 

You swallowed a lump and sat up a little straighter, straining a bit from the phone’s screen as you unlocked it. As you opened your messages, you heard the sizzling of eggs and the crackle of a gas stove from the kitchen. Your stomach grumbled lightly as you scrolled up through your messages to the skeleton. Before you started reading, you looked up to Undyne with realization.

“Wait... Undyne, I remember the bravery cocktail. Did we... not go through with that whole kissing Sans and getting pics thing?”

Alphys’ eyes glittered with excitement, you swore you heard a slight commotion in the kitchen, and Undyne lifted her head with a deadpan, tired look. She shrugged her shoulders lazily.

“Grillby stopped you with a shot of Patience. He probably just wanted you to stay to pay your tab.”

 

 _‘Keep her, she actually pays her tab’,_ Sans’ low voice echoed in your head, as you recalled his translation of the bartender’s words at the end of your date. If you didn’t feel like shit, you would’ve laughed at that.

“I paid the tab, right?”

Undyne snorted. “You paid mine too.” Her amused look turned suspicious, and she stared right through you. “Where the hell does an art student get that sorta cash?”

It was too late for you to answer though, you were already back to your phone, face slightly pale as you went through your texts from last night. You heard her question, of course, but you were a little busy to answer right away. These texts were all you could focus on the moment.

 

**6:25 PM - You - Hey Sans. Going drinking with Undyne. I’ll be back late okay?**

 

**6:26 PM - Sans - k. try not to fight anybody, stay safe n all that.**

**6:26 PM - Sans - i mean unless you fight undyne, then you’ll be plenty safe**

**6:26 PM - Sans - you know what i mean tho**

 

**6:27 PM - You - I’ll try my best, nerd. See you later <3**

 

**6:27 PM - Sans - seeya**

 

You noticed a bit of time between that text and the next, but you could tell it was after you’d had Bravery. After you’d passed into the drunk threshold....

 

**7:49 PM - You - sanbs**

**7:49 PM - You - Sans***

**7:49 PM - You - You’re fuckin cute as all hell. Did you know that?**

**7:50 PM - You - I wanna kiss ur big smoochable face**

 

**7:51 PM - Sans - k. how much have you had?**

 

**7:54 PM - You - so much braver**

**7:54 PM - You - Bravery**

**7:55 PM - You - fuck. Monster alochol is amazing**

**7:57 PM - You - how the fuckn. magic right? Magic.**

 

**7:58 PM - Sans - lmao holy shit**

**8:00 PM - Sans - i wouldn’t mind a kiss but like**

**8:01 PM - Sans - maybe when you’re not drunk, k?**

 

There was another pause, though less spaced out this time. You’d probably started towards the door, and that’s probably when Grillby got you more drinks. The next message basically confirmed your thoughts.

 

**8:15 PM - You - k. smoochin can wait. Whenever u wanna try that tho u let me know**

**8:16 PM - You - i gotta figure outt how the fu k your bonelips work**

**8:16 PM - You - you have bone lips lol**

**8:17 PM - You - bone lips**

 

**8:20 PM - Sans - you are super drunk lol**

 

**8:24 PM - You - Ya ok but real talk....**

Oh no.

**8:26 PM - You - I was gonna ask you out. Like i meant to like weeks before you did but got wet feett.**

Oh god.

**8:27 PM - You - You’re a  ssskeleton and you’re honestly the prettiest guy I’ve ever wanted to date n shit. And i’m not saying some of the people I dated were ugly i mean ur like**

**8:28 PM - You - a    ctuall y good looking.**

**8:28 PM - You - and you’ r super bice to me evn tho i’m a mess**

**8:29 PM - You - but ur a mess too.**

**8:31 PM - You - I mean ur nightmares. N ur laser skull buds n the clamminess.**

**8:32 PM - You - if u were an animal ud be a clam bc u clam up all th time**

 

Shut up shut up shut UP! You silently screamed at your drunk self from last night. Oh god, what did he think now? That was way too much to say to him, wasn’t it?

 

**8:34 PM - Sans - okay?**

 

Ugh, you could practically hear the unease and apprehension. You kept reading regardless. At this point you seemed to have gotten more Patience, maybe some Integrity as well. You remember that one vaguely.

 

**8:40 PM - You - but like that’s ok right? Cuz i stibl lik e you n shit. Ur a huge fukin cuddly af marshmallow. N u got issues bu thats ok. Ur hurtin but like. I get u dont wanna talk about it n shit. But like m there when u need me n stuff. I wont make u lik e say nything unles you wanna. Cuz i like u a lot. Idk why i like u so much we’ve dated like 1 time but i rlly rlly like u a lot.**

There was an hour gap after that, before you said anything else. Sans didn’t respond at all, you figured you’d left a partial message before sending it in that time. 

**9:33 PM - You - still wanna kiss u, even tho i’m a mess. Like whn i'm sober n shit we can try ok? If u wanna? Do u wanna? Its ok if u dont**

**9:35 PM - You - ur the best friend ive ever hadddd. Sober me won t admit that right away ok. Bt like i'm glad we’re dating. It feels good.**

 

**9:40 PM - Sans - yeah. it does.**

**9:42 PM - Sans - hey. look uh.**

**9:42 PM - Sans - i know you’re drunk and that’s where most of this is coming from, but like. thanks. and uh, also undyne texted me angrily bc you were beating urself up? She explained it a little so like.**

**9:44 PM - Sans - the whole swing stance you have isn’t a bother to me at all, you know that right?**

**9:46 PM - Sans - anyways. we can talk when ur home and kinda... figure ourselves out about it. k? just so you don’t feel like you gotta do anything.**

 

**10:00 PM - You - ya k. m comin home now n suff**

**10:02 PM - You - we can talk thn im gonna crawl into bed n cuddle the hell out of u**

**10:03 PM - You - you look like u’d be suuuuuper cuddly. Nap buddy levels n stuff.**

 

**10:05 PM - Sans - so much for our lil moment there lmao**

**10:06 PM - Sans - maybe another time, sweetheart. alphys just texted that she’s gonna take u and undyne home to their place tonight.**

**10:07 PM - Sans - get rest n water. text me when ur feelin ok and i’ll bring u home.**

 

As embarrassed as you were by your texts, his responses were a breath of fresh air. You’d had a few dates who said similar things, but it’d been a long time since, and most had broken off with you. On good terms, of course, sometimes things just didn’t work out after all, but it still stung a little.

Your face was flushed when a plate was set in front of you, and your attention snapped back to the present as you looked up, right into the goat monster’s wise, kind eyes. She gave you a silly look and smiled slightly, and you noticed for the first time the large fangs sticking out of her mouth.

“Catching up with friends, my child?”

 

“Oh, sorta. I sent a lot of texts to my boyfriend last night. I’m uh...” you laughed nervously, “I’m trying to see how much I’m gonna have to say sorry.”

Your head drooped.

“He’s being a good sport, but man... holy hell did I say things.”

She laughed softly, walking over to place another plate in front of Undyne, who immediately perked up with a gleam of hunger in her widening eye. Satisfied, the goat monster sat down across from Alphys near you, folding her hands in her lap.

“I’m sure Sans will understand.”

 

You sighed, looking down at your omelette with a tired look and a faint smile. “Yeah, he already texted me back some nice stuff. I feel lucky he--” You blinked, looking up to the motherly monster with a tilt of your head. “Hold up, how did you know I was talking about Sans? Was I being that loud?”

She gave you the most innocent of smiles, looking subtly towards the yellow reptile across from her. You followed her gaze and saw Alphys tapping away at her phone. It was only when she felt your stares that she looked up.

“O-oh! Did I m-miss something?”

“Nothing,” you said with a slight smile, “Just amused at how easily word gets around in this group.”

“I suppose it can’t be helped,” the tallest monster said, looking to you as you finally started to attack your pile of eggs and cheese. “We do try to keep in touch, it’s a very good thing none of us have gone out of town.”

“I can respect that,” you said between bites, hardly taking time to breathe. Holy _shit_ , this was the best omelette you’d ever had. It was cheesy and gooey and moist, and it made you feel warm from the inside out. Even your poor aching head was getting slow relief, and you figured that it was that ‘monster food’ thing Alphys had mentioned.

 

You looked up when you were about done with your plate, and you noticed the goat-woman’s curious expression. You tilted your head, putting fingers to your cheek. “Do I have something on my face?”

“Oh no,” she shook her head, “I was just startled, your dialect has been changing all afternoon. It was... familiar before.”

“Addy’s family is from out of town,” Undyne said, pushing her empty plate away with a covered burp. “Like, across the ocean out of town.”

There was a twinkle in her eyes as the eldest monster looked back at you, something nostalgic crossing her features.

“Is that so? I once knew many friends that were from across the ocean.” She sighed wistfully. “Ah, but that was a long, long time ago.”

Curiosity got a hold of you. “Like. Human friends?”

She nodded. “Well, yes. Though those were humans from before the war.”

“Well shit, Tori,” Undyne said, “that’s gotta be around a thousand years at this point.”

 

She said it like it was a joke, or perhaps something as casual as discussing the weather, but you still nearly spit out your water. A thousand years?!

 

“Jesus,” you almost sputtered, “How old are you guys?”

Undyne hardly reacted, and she sat back in her chair as if she’d had to answer this before. She closed her eyes and folded her hands into her lap.

“Five-hundred and twenty-two years.” There was a long pause, and she opened her eye to look at your flabbergasted expression. Her face quickly crinkled up into a harsh laugh. “HAH! Just kidding, I’m thirty. Toriel here’s like three-thousand or something, right Tori?”

You blinked, looking to Toriel with new light. Of course your friends knew the queen of all monsters, _of course they did..._ She just shrugged casually, as if age was the least of her troubles.

“More or less. Age has a very different meaning to boss monsters such as myself. I thought Asgore taught you that.”

Undyne’s anglerfish smile just grew wider. “Course I did, but our human friend didn’t.”

“Undyne!” Alphys exclaimed as Toriel started to giggle slightly. “T-that’s so mean!”

“But it’s funny.” She replied pointedly.

They made cute faces at each other for a moment, and you realized that your headache was lessened greatly, as you hadn’t cringed from their laughter. Still, it lingered, and you rubbed your head with one hand as you wolfed down the last of your monster-made food, hoping it’d get rid of it entirely.

It didn’t, of course, but it tasted great nonetheless.

 

You heard the cute jingle of a cell phone over the chatter, and looked up to see Toriel fishing a phone from a pocket hidden on her dress. It was an older looking flip phone, and you were amazed to see how easily she seemed to handle it, despite her paws dwarfing the number pad. You finished your plate and waited, curious about who she was texting.

“Who’s that?” You finally asked.

She pocketed her phone and put her hands in her lap. “It was Sans. He knew I was coming here to visit Alphys and Undyne, and asked if you were up yet.”

 

You looked at your phone on the table, reaching out to check it, yourself. Nothing from him, though it was getting on one in the afternoon. Perhaps he thought you were still asleep. Well... you _were_ feeling a bit better now, enough for teleporting at the very least. You opened your messages and sent him a quick text.

 

**12:47 PM - You - I’m up, had some monster food so I’m not too headachey but like. No loud noises would be nice for like another hour.**

**12:48 PM - You - You can come get me now if you want.**

**12:48 PM - You - also since when did you know literal royalty?**

 

You didn’t have time to join the (thankfully) quiet conversation before the phone buzzed with a quick response.

 

**12:50 PM - Sans - it’s a long story**

**12:50 PM - Sans - lemme get dressed and i’ll b right over**

 

**12:50 PM - You - see you soon <3**

 

You set down your phone and smiled, and only then noticed a warm glow coming from Toriel. You paused, scrunching up your eyebrows.

“... What?”

“Nothing,” she said softly, “it is just refreshing to see young love.” You most definitely blushed at that, though you didn’t try to hide it. She didn’t seem like the type to tease anyways. Her eyes twinkled. “He’s very lucky. You seem like a wonderful partner.”

“Aw jeez,” you said, blushing harder, “dunno if I’d call us _partners..._ yet... I guess?”

 

“i thought were _were_ partners, addy.”

 

You jumped at his deep voice, turning around in your chair to see Sans there at the door, hands stuffed into his pockets. Your whole face was probably beet red as he winked at you with a sly grin.

“partners in crime and pun-ishment.”

You and Undyne groaned.

“God,” you said, “That was terrible _._ ”

“didn’t have much time to think up a better one.” he looked up to everybody and nodded a hello. “sup tori, alphys, undyne.”

“Hello Sans,” They all responded in unison.

“everybody have a good time?” he asked.

“D-dont worry.” Alphys nodded to you, “Your g-girlfriend didn’t get into any t-trouble.”

“thanks. and thanks for fixing her up, tori.”

You’d stood up and walked over to Sans, getting in close in preparation for the trip. Toriel, in the meantime, looked almost chipper.  “It’s no problem! She looked miserable. You two heading out, then?”

“yeah, unless she’s got objections.” He looked to you and tilted his head in your direction.

 

You looked back at the table, at your friends (you have such amazing friends now), then back to Sans tiredly.

“I should probably get back so I can clean up before class.” You looked out one more time at your friends. “Thanks for letting me crash here, thanks for the food. I’ll see you all later, okay?”

“Seeya later, punk.”

“B-bye. If you want me to upgrade your phone sometime, j-just text me.”

“I hope we meet again.” Toriel finished among the three. “Oh and Sans.” She gave him a hard look, not quite cruel or aggressive, but motherly. “You take good care of her, okay?”

There was a moment of silence, then you could feel Sans’ ribs shift as he chuckled.

“don’t worry. i will.” He grabbed you around the waist and pulled you in, and you swore Alphys was starting to squeal. He gave them all a quick wave.

 

“seeya.”

 

~———————~

 

As usual, the teleporting itself didn’t affect you too much, given you’d been preparing for it. When you touched down in your apartment, you noticed it was empty, which was both satisfying for your lingering headache and foreboding...

 

“so,” Sans said playfully.

Here it comes...

“i’m a big cuddly marshmallow, am i?”

 

He hadn’t let go of you, as if to keep you on his side to make a point. You just covered your face in your hands and groaned.

“You’re never letting that go, are you?”

“nope~”

“There’s a list of embarrassing things I’ve said to you now, isn’t there?”

He laughed. “i think that one goes right between tendons and bone lips.”

You didn’t take your face out of your hands, but you could feel how hot your cheeks were on your palms. Your shoulders bunched up.

“Dear lord I was really drunk.”

 

“you really were,” he joked back, moving over towards the couches with you in tow.  
He sat down and motioned for you to sit with him. You had a few more hours to spare, at the very least. You obliged, sitting close with your knees tucked up to your chest. After a moment of silence, he rested his head on the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

“bone lips... never heard that one before.”

He eyed you for a moment, then slightly moved his mouth to simulate sticking out a lower lip. It wasn’t quite the same as it’d be on a flesh and blood being, but it was more than you knew a normal skeleton would be capable of. He smiled lazily at you, reaching over to wrap an arm around your shoulders and pull you a bit closer.

 

“well, if you’re that curious. go ahead.”

 

“Huh?”

 

He gave you a look, smile ever so slightly growing. It took you a moment, but you got what he meant. You shifted a bit closer, moved around so you could reach your hands out towards his skull, and hesitated for a moment.

“You’re okay with this, right?”

He nodded. “yeah, sure. you’re a curious human that doesn’t get monster physiology. But you’re _my_ curious human.”

As if to oblige you further, he brought his head up and closer to you, no longer resting it as he’d likely had preferred. You looked at him for a moment, then you let yourself reach out and put your fingers on his face. He held still for you, with occasional shifts from breathing, and you were immediately drawn into the moment.

 

His skull was warm, slightly, not human warm, but definitely warmer than the room was. There has hardly any give to its surface, but when he smiled, you could _feel_ the bone shift beneath you to accommodate. You brushed a thumb over a cheekbone, then reached up to his scalp to feel the little nicks and subtle bumps that you’d once spent years learning from the inside out.

“what makes you so curious, anyways?” he said as you brushed over a brow ridge. You paused for a moment, then shrugged.

“I told you before. Dad’s a biologist. I grew up learning about how living things work, how they function and why.” You carefully brought your thumb down to the bags under his eyes, noting how much softer they were, how much more they gave to your touch. It made sense after all. He had to blink and emote somehow. “Monsters... whole new field. We gotta learn from you guys. Hospitals need to know how to help injured monsters, schools need to know how to teach about how the body works to both human and monster kids.”

“you’re so optimistic about it,” he said sullenly. You know he didn’t mean to seem too cold about it, but you could hear the tiredness in his voice. You cupped his cheek and frowned, slightly, moving his head so he was facing you more.

“Come on,” you said, holding him still. “One day, right?”

There was a quiet moment, then he sighed, leaning into your hand with a soft nuzzle. “yeah. i sure hope so.”

 

You weren’t sure why, but you liked the feeling. Then, inevitably, your hand moved down so that your thumb grazed over his mandible. You paused, looked to him for a visual okay (which he gave), and then traced the corner of his mouth. You pressed against a spot below his teeth slightly, entranced as it stretched when his smile grew. The area around his mouth was softer, ever so slightly, like around his eyes, enough for speech but much tougher than human lips.

You lingered there for long enough that it was beyond what most people might find comfortable, and your eyes met Sans’, and they stayed there. His eyes were bright, piercing, all his focus was on you and you could see faint blush on his cheekbones. He leaned in a little bit, voice low.

 

“if you’re curious...”

 

You were... you really were. Of course, only in a drunken state were you able to admit it, but still. You leaned in more, thoughts racing, heart racing, hand still on his cheek. You had to physically move for this, and your weight shifted more onto his to get closer.

Was this all too soon? You thought to yourself suddenly... You’d only just made it official, only just gotten comfortable enough to be this close. And even then, it’d been quick. Monster relationships went fast, you remembered somebody telling you that... But, was this fast even for them? You felt like you could jump head first into all of this with no problem, but... That nagging feeling, the voices of past relationships whispering.

He’d kept still for you, stayed patient for you... And with a sigh, you leaned away, rubbing his cheekbone again before letting that hand fall.

“Sorry...” you muttered. Feeling a bit disappointed in your lack of resolve. “It’s just... early, you know? I dunno.”

“hey, buddy.” He held onto your shoulders, slouching so you were once again eye level. His eyes had dimmed slightly, but still held a certain shine to them you couldn’t shake as attractive. He gave you a reassuring look as you rubbed your arm.

“it’s cool. monsters do go kinda fast.” He chuckled. “i’m not gonna force ya or anything.”

 

You sat there, then quietly let out a sigh of relief you didn’t realize you were holding in. Had you really expected him to pressure you like that? It would have seemed so... out of character for him.

“Thanks,” you said with a hint of nervousness. “Just give me time, it’s been a while.”

“no rush,” he chuckled. Leaning back, he folded his arms and gave you a wink. “Guess this means i’ll take a nap. you’re welcome to stick around and make it a party if you want.”

You blinked at him, but he just sat there with his usual lazy grin. “A nap party?”

“sure. we got time for one, if you want.” He scratched his chest idly and shrugged. “‘m gonna take a nap regardless. it’s up to you.”

You thought about it for a moment or two. You did still feel a bit bad about pulling out of that potential, er, kiss. And you wouldn’t mind a bit more time with him before class. Being close was nice, it made you feel a bit safer, even if you were well aware of how easily you could take care of yourself.

“That sounds nice, haven’t done that in a while either” you admitted, and his smile grew. You shifted away to give him space. “I’ll let you get comfy first.”

“i’ve got an easier way.” he said, left eye flaring blue.

 

You felt a tingle of magic surround you, and your breath hitched as he used his gravity magic to hoist you up into the air. Unable to move, you just watched as he got comfortable, swinging his legs onto the couch and propping his head and shoulders onto the armrest of the couch. With the tiniest flex of his hand, the gravity around you became heavier, and you were lowered down until you were comfortably placed on his frame. You had to shift a little of course, and you moved around just enough so that your head rested right at the top of his sternum.

He really was like a marshmallow, you joked to yourself. He’d even allowed his manifested stomach to remain tangible beneath his shirt, to give you something softer than bones to rest on. You weren’t sure how the hell a skeleton could even have a stomach (let alone a big one like his), but in the end you figured you’d have to chalk it up to “magic monster bullshit”.

 

When you’d settled, he put an arm on your back and gave you lazy smile.

“all good?” he asked.

“All good,” you affirmed to him, sighing against his broad ribs. “Though the magic was a little unnecessary.”

“i get that a lot,” he chuckled. “i’ve got an alarm set already by the way.”

“Okay.” You lay still for a moment, breath slowing. You felt the rise and fall of his ribs, and quietly, tiredly, said one more thing. “Hey, Sans?”

“mm?”

“I’m gonna try going alone tonight. I’m feeling a bit better about going to and from this class again.”

“you sure?” he asked seriously, and you swore you could feel a slight swell of magic in his chest. “cuz like. i’m totally okay with doing escort if you still feel like you’ll get in a bad spot.”

You laughed quietly, reaching up to pat his cheek.“Yeah. I gotta do it, or I’ll never feel safe, you know?”

“... yeah, i get that.” He wrapped another arm around you and squeezed you into a hug before letting his head roll back onto the armrest. “Just promise me you’ll contact me if anything happens.”

“Cross my heart,” you yawned. “I’ll beat the shit out of those jerks first though.”

 

He seemed satisfied with that, and you were plenty tired from your long night of drinking. After a while, you both drifted into rest. It was an uneventful nap party, as all the best ones are, and nobody woke you until the alarm went off later.

Papyrus, of course, saw you two when he came home from the airport. You learned later that he was seeing Mettaton off as the robot went to his next big event. He stayed quiet, he didn’t even take a picture this time. He just went to preparing a new batch of spaghetti, and that was that.

When you woke, you changed shoes and jacket, gathered your belongings, and with another quick kiss to your boyfriend’s cheek, you went out on your own for the first time in a few weeks.

  
  
For a time, your walks to class were as safe and uneventful as you’d hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [](http://zonbiconbi.tumblr.com/ask)Bother me
> 
> [](http://zonbiconbi.tumblr.com/tagged/mrts-fanart)Also check out some of the awesome f.arts I've gotten!
> 
> You know, at this point I just gotta admit to myself that I'm one of those writers with longass chapters lmao


	19. A Terrible Disadvantage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Familiar faces return. It's a really bad time.
> 
>  
> 
> **TW for graphic violence**

Weeks passed by, summer heat was rolling in as springtime started to wane away, and you were back to feeling rather confident.

You were walking to your late night class on your own, you’d been happier with your work, you were working out with full vigor, and even your sleeping had improved somewhat. Of course, Papyrus still vocalized concerns every morning and made sure you were energized before leaving for the day, but it didn’t seem as straining as before.

 

Sans, on the other hand, may have improved a bit alongside you, but overall didn’t seem to change. Of course, it didn’t stop you from enjoying the time you spent with him. He laughed at your rants about modern art and minimalism, texted with you in the middle of the night when neither of you could sleep. He even took you on a few more dates (twice to Muffet’s, the other time was to Grillby’s. You really needed to pick someplace new for him).

Still, he was tired, and you could see it. He napped all the time, sometimes even falling asleep during conversation! _‘It could be narcolepsy,’_ you explained once, ‘ _one of my friends back in grade school used to fall asleep at random and scare everybody.’_ The bags under his eyes had improved since that string of nightmares back when you first met Orion, but that was the most of it. He still _looked_ tired, or bored, or just overall lazy. It was just his character of course, but it still hurt to wonder what he’d dealt with that had permanently left him this way.

 

You really did appreciate him for the little ways he tried to do better though. After all, he was putting forth effort to do all these nice things with you, all while balancing his own jobs and his own responsibilities and, well, his baggage. Whatever weighed him down was a mystery he guarded close, and you had the wisdom and tact not to pry. You let him be a brother to Papyrus and a boyfriend to you... even if he was a bit of a concerned one. Not that you blamed him.

He was verbally concerned about you whenever you went off to your nighttime class, and to be honest, you were always a bit nervous, even if your confidence had improved a lot. He always offered to walk you or teleport you there, but you knew better than to fall back into that safety net. You couldn’t wear floaties in the deep end forever, you had to get back to swimming sooner or later.

 

And so, there you were. It was a week before finals and you were sitting in class, writing down what would be your last assignment. There was to be a test on the last day next week, and a generalized report on what art movement influenced you the most. The professor was as tired as the rest of you, even the test was multiple choice for the sake of just having something to put into the grade books. You liked it better like that, you didn't have to think hard on anything, and you could study minimally.

You and a few classmates were discussing Dadaism towards the end of class, and it passed the time greatly until the professor let everybody go. It was a bit before it usually ended, but you knew he was tired and wanted to get some rest before a morning session he told your class about on occasion.

As you left the building, you strolled along, thinking about how easy things seemed to be going. Even under the light of the street lamps and buildings, you could see a few stars out. Even the moon was out, close to being at its fullest in a few short days...

Maybe if you hadn’t been staring up at that moon as you walked, you would have noticed that you were being followed. It took you finally looking back down to earth to realize anybody was there. At first, there was a nagging feeling as your pace slowed with wary anticipation, then a feeling of dread at the sound of footsteps.

 

Two all too familiar men stepped out from a nearby alley, right into the light of the nearest street lamp.

 

You stiffened, they approached, and you almost took a step back as panic stirred in your gut. Still, you held still, stuffing your hands into your pockets and doing your best to look calm.

 

“Oh. It’s you.”

 

At first, the didn’t say anything, nor did they make any attempts to get closer. Then the one you assumed as the leader, brown hair and sunken green eyes, stepped towards you.

“Yeah, it’s us. Are you shocked or something?”

Your lip curled.

“Uh, yeah, I thought that kick to your nuts would have gotten you to fuck off for good.”

 

“Aw come on,” the other piped up, moving some black hair from his forehead. “He didn’t mean nothin’ by that. It was the alcohol, right Dave?”

“Yeah,” the first replied with a snide edge. “Super drunk, all of us. So uh, guess there’s a sorry for that?” He took a step or two forward again, and your hands balled into fists in your jacket.

“But uh, drunk or not, we were just tryin’ to get to know you, see if you’d like to go to some bars with us... But then you ran off. Not even a chance.”

He pretended to be downcast, and his friend stifled a snicker. He looked back up at you, a glint in his eyes you knew was trouble.

“You know, we were gonna talk to you sooner but,” he made a disgusted face, “you were with one of those _monsters_. Every day! You’re stuck together like glue.”

He shook his head in dismay.

“We’ve been worried! Pretty thing like you with one of _them_. You could get hurt!”

 

“Is that so?” you growled back, even tone slipping. Have they been stalking you? How long had they been following you around, lurking in the shadows?

“Of course! I mean, roommates like that? I couldn’t imagine what sort of fucked up shit they’ve been doing to you.”

You paled as he stepped forward again. Oh god... they knew where you _lived!_ This wasn’t just streets and shadows, this was going to your apartment building, looking into windows for you... You silently thanked the heavens that you always kept your blinds closed... and that you lived on a high floor.

“What do you want with me?!” You demanded, voice cracking as you finally took a step back. The other man was approaching behind the first, and you could feel your heart starting to race.

 

The brown haired man shrugged. “We just wanted to get you someplace safer.”

You bumped into somebody behind you, somebody with a broad chest that you assumed was the missing third of the unpleasant trio. You didn’t have to even look back to know that.

“Just let us help you, the boys will fix you something, we’ll get in contact with the police about it, and you won’t have to deal with those monsters.”

 

You didn’t know what was scarier, the fact that you were surrounded, or the sincerity in his voice. Horribly misplaced and laced with hidden meaning sincerity, but honest all the same. Your brows furrowed and you shoved backwards to get the other guy to back off.

“I think I can tell when I’m in danger, thank you very much. Now if you’ll excuse me,”

 

You tried to shove on past him, but he stopped you with a firm hand to your shoulder. His face changed to a look much more serious before, and you saw the start of a frown.

“Lady, you’re askin’ for a lot of trouble if you don’t let us help you.”

You glowered at him, one fist escaping a pocket to flex and ball up again.

“So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“You honestly think I’m just going to go with you three strangers because your tiny bigoted brains can’t comprehend that I happen to enjoy spending time with monsters?”

His grip on your shoulder tightened.

“I don’t think you know what you’re starting, here.”

“I know what happened last time,” you spat, ”and this time I’m not exhausted. Now get your hand off of me or I'm going to beat the everloving shit out of you.”

He sighed, loosening his grip just enough that you were tensing for a fight.

“If that’s how it’s going to be...”

 

He swung his other arm back as if to punch you, and you ducked immediately, charging back towards his face. Your head met his chin and he cried out, tripping back as you made a run for it down the street. The black haired guy was hot on your heels while the third stranger helped the leader up. You could feel his hot breath on your neck, and you stopped and spun around, fishing in your jacket pockets for your mace. To your horror and dismay, you couldn’t find it. Had you left your only can of pepper spray on the nightstand?! Fuck, shit. SHIT! The second man was barreling towards you, and when you removed yourself from your shocked state, you leapt to the side into an alley, knocking over trash cans to slow his advancement.

 

You kept running, getting lost in the alleys and dark streets as their shouts echoed behind you. You fished out your phone and speed dialed Sans. You needed a teleport, or for him to call the police, just _something_ . If it had been just one of them you would have been fine, but three at once left you at a terrible disadvantage. Your mouth was dry as the phone rang, heart thundering in your ears. Why wasn’t he picking up? Why _now_ of all damn times!

 

“yo addy.”

 

Thank fuck. There he was.

 

“Sans!” you said low, “Sans I need your help!”

There was no pause or hesitation. He probably heard you running, or heard your heavy breaths as you willed yourself forward.

“addy are you okay? where are you??”

“I... fuck! I don’t know. I ran into those bastards again and they said a lot of shit and,” You leapt over a trashcan in your way, landing with a grunt. “They’re not far behind, I’m in some alleyways about halfway home, there’s a street up ahead but I can’t make out the buildings. Sans, _please.”_

“addy hold on i’ll be right there, k? stay on with me okay?”

“Alright. Just please get here soon, I--”

 

Your head made contact with something solid, and your vision momentarily went black as you fell to your ass with a loud groan. You heard your phone fall a short distance away, and you could hear your boyfriend’s panicked voice faintly from its tiny speaker.

It was the third guy again, and you finally got a good look at him as you scrambled to your feet, holding onto your face as the pain rushed forward. You remembered him, brown crew cut hair, sullen gray-green eyes, and the fastest of the three.

You growled, he let the hand used to punch you in the face fall to his side, and you widened your stance.

“Come on you sack of shit, try that again.”

 

“Hey now, don’t be such a stupid bitch about it.”

 

Ugh, the others were here, and your panic was setting back into your body. You whipped around, and the other men stepped through the alleyway, blocking your other exit. The boss, (you were going to call him that now) just shrugged at the third guy.

“You should have just fucking listened. None of this would have happened.”

 

Rationality was quickly jumping out the nearest window as you shook, looking around for any form of exit. Unfortunately, you were down one eye and surrounded. The only way out was to fight.

“Fuck. OFF.” You shouted at them, but there was no indication that they’d comply. No, the boss just chuckled.

“Babe, you’re outnumbered _and_ outmatched.”

He took a step forward.

“So how about you be a good little girl.”

And another...

“And come with us instead of making us do all this?”

 

He took one more step forward and you charged, slamming full force into him and knocking him off of his feet. Your fists met his face twice before the black haired lackey grabbed you by your collar and threw you off of him with a sharp yell. You stumbled back, ducking out of the way as the third guy, the speedy one, tried to rush in to restrain you. Your mouth was dry, your working eye refused to blink, and you screamed loud.

You rushed at the lackey again, slamming him against a wall and letting loose every single hit and kick on him you could muster. You could hardly hear him shouting in pain until his head rolled to the side and you backed off of him. The third kick to his crotch probably did it for him, and for a moment you forgot the other two.

 

That was, of course, until one of them grabbed you from behind, one arm around your middle and one attempting to hold your arms still. You struggled and kicked and screamed again, and without thinking you bit down on his arm with all the force you had in you. Even with your hearing fading, you could tell he was howling, and you clamped down until his grip on your arm loosened. The coppery taste of blood was in your mouth, and you brought your hands together and struck backwards, making contact with his side. He let go completely and you stumbled away, looking for your exit. With the lackey out of commission and one of the two remaining men still nursing a fresh wound, this would be the best time to get to that street.

 

You made a break for it, but your jacket was grabbed fiercely, and in your struggle to get away and just let them have the damn thing you tripped, falling onto your face with a harsh thud. Your breath was heavy, heart ready to burst from your chest from strain, and you struggled as somebody lifted you to standing. The boss stood before you, his speedy lackey holding you still as he wiped blood from his nose. His arm was bleeding profusely and you realized he was who you’d bitten.

“Did you really think--” He slammed a fist into your gut, and all the air in your lungs was forced out. “You could--” another fist made contact with you, and you snarled with pain. “Fucking get the better of us!?”

He came in for another hit, and with a roar you shifted your weight and bend forward, hauling his friend over your shoulders and right on top of him. You moved back to observe your work as you tried to breathe. The lackey was out of commission, and Speedy and Boss were just barely struggling to get back on their feet after your aggressive show of strength. You haphazardly started making your way towards the street.

 

You were almost to the light when something slammed into your side with brute force. You heard a sickening crack and immediately saw stars in your vision as you registered the pain. You tried to clutch your side, but the next thing you knew you were being shoved against a wall with a hand at your neck. You hit it so hard that your head rolled back forcefully, making hard contact with brick and leaving you unconscious for at least a second.

You had tears in your eyes from the pain, and you clawed at the arms coming at you as you tried to look around. Speedy was on his feet, and Boss... boss looked pissed, he looked hungry and ready to kill, and both of his hands were on your throat as he squeezed. Speedy weakly moved forward and put a hard grip on his shoulder.

“Dude come on. It’s not worth it.”

“FUCK THAT.” He snarled, squeezing your neck so hard that for a moment you saw stars. “I’ve had enough of this bitch. You stay the fuck out of this you fucking hear me?”

You clawed at his arms and tried to breathe. You couldn’t rationalize properly, you couldn’t see, you could hardly hear. There were ways to get out of being strangled weren’t there? A kick to his crotch! A hard chop to his elbows! SOMETHING! You tried and failed to will your body into an action that wasn’t a helpless flailing, and you vision got blurry.

 

You felt like you were drowning, unable to breathe and starting to grab at the hands on your neck with urgency. This wasn’t how you were going out! This wasn’t right, this wasn’t the time or place or age, it couldn’t be!!!

 

Out of nowhere, you felt a hum of magic creep up your spine, and all at once the hands left your neck, allowing you to collapse in a heap on the ground.

 

You heard footsteps coming in the direction of your comotion, and you cringed and retreated away from it, struggling with what strength you had left to at least sit up and maybe be ready to run if needed. Before you were the three assailants, the one you’d knocked out was only barely coming to consciousness, but with how hard you’d hit him, it’d be a while yet. The other two? They looked terrified, and even with your limited vision, you could see things floating in front of their chests.

They looked like cartoon hearts, one a weak Orange, one a bright cherry red.

 

“okay, so...”

You swerved your head around, looking out into the light of the street for Sans. You recognized that voice anywhere, and there he was with his hand outstretched, fingers clawed in a way that looked almost bestial. His face was in shadow as he stepped forward, but he lifted it and you could see his empty, lifeless sockets.

“i try to give humans chances, i really do. But...”

 

His left eye came to life, a flash of blue and yellow around his now black pupil that made your hair stand on end. His outstretched hand turned into a fist, and with a burst of magic even you could feel, the two hearts in front of the remaining two men turned a deep blue.

“Humans like you?” His tone had changed. You weren’t sure if you liked that fact.

His hand lifted, the hearts lifted, and the humans lifted with them.

**“Humans like you ought to be in hell.”**

 

His hand slammed down, and their slammed to the ground with him. He lifted them up and tossed them to the nearest wall like ragdolls, and your breath hitched as Speedy went limp. That didn’t stop Sans, however, and he kept tossing them around. You looked over to him with a silent plea to stop it, but his eyes were trained like he’d done this before, his smile was more skeletal, with his mouth opened to reveal his sharpened teeth. He looked sadistic, he looked furious, and for half a second you were starting to think that these fellow humans were right to be concerned.

 

His eyes went to you for a moment and you saw a flicker of his usual self in them, the guy who you knew under this murderous intent was scared out of his mind. You struggled to sit up, coughing and groaning at the pain, and you hoarsely spoke up despite the protest from your chest.

“Sans. Stop. You’re gonna kill them.”

“They deserve it,” he growled, and you coughed again, one hand clutched to your broken ribs as if they’d fall apart in your skin.

“Sans. _Please._ They aren’t worth it. Don’t get on their level.”

His movements ground to a halt, mere moments before the nearly unconscious humans before you made contact with the ground. There was a deathly silence, then he slowly, carefully, set them onto the ground. Their little cartoon hearts slowly changed back to what you assumed were their natural colors, then they disappeared into their owners’ bodies.

 

“Yeah... you’re right.”

 

You shook, watching them with uncertainty as you heard Sans getting closer. You knew it was him, but you still flinched away when he crouched down and put a hand to your shoulder. You wheezed a tiny ‘sorry’ under your breath, allowing physical contact again. He didn’t give it right away, he just crouched before you, looking you over with blazing white pupils.

“adelaide are you okay?”

“You need to,” you started, wheezing a bit, “call an ambulance. I lost my phone in the scuffle.” You coughed, then whimpered, holding your ribs as you bent forward. “I think some ribs are broken.”

He looked confused, moving you slightly to get a better look.

“weird. you should recover okay from that, right?”  
You and him made eye contact, and you swore he managed to get paler than the off white his skull was naturally.  
“shit. you have organs that’s right.”

 

He took off his jacket quickly, draping it over you as he sat down to your left. It was your bad side, but you knew it was him at least. He shifted you a bit, and carefully moved you so that you were resting against him. You curled up instinctively as he pulled a phone from his shorts pocket. You heard the familiar three-number tone and you tried to catch your breath, watching the other men as if they’d leap up at any second.

 

“yo. i need an ambulance and a fuckton of police. three guys just tried to assault my girlfriend, one was choking her out when i got to her... yeah. they’re unable to fight anymore for the moment, but i’d get here before they get cocky...”

You couldn’t see him scowl, but you could feel the magic in him swelling from irritation.

“i’m being damn serious. we’re in an alley right next to that shoe store on cardinal street. she says she thinks her ribs are cracked.... look i don’t know shit about human anatomy okay? she has a black eye and she’s covered in bruises and she probably has injured ribs. i want to make sure she doesn’t puncture a lung, you know?”

Another pause, more irritation and more magic, and you tensed.

“look, i don’t wanna have to tell you again, but get a damn ambulance out here and some cops to handle the creeps.”

You looked up at him, shuffling closer as he put a protective arm around your shoulders.

“k. thanks, we won’t move i promise.”

 

He hung up the phone, pocketed it, and sighed in relief. You looked at him, then back to the three men with a new fire in your eyes. You growled, even as it caused you pain.

 

“Those... fucking....” you winced, tensed, then slumped against Sans, utterly exhausted. “Fuck. I don’t even have it in me to curse them out.”

Sans just chuckled weakly, rubbing your shoulder softly.

“looked like you did quite a number on them before i got there.”

“If it had been one on one, or hell two on one--”

“you definitely would have beaten the crap out of them and gotten away mostly unharmed...”

You rested your cheek on his ribcage while he continued.

“but... thank god i got here when i did.”

 

“You saved my life,” you said, both admitting to the fact and speaking in utter awe of it. “Thank you. I... I didn’t want to go out like that.”

“those assholes are going to regret so much as looking at you,” he replied with a growl. “nobody touches you unless they’re looking to get dunked on.”

“‘Get dunked on’?” you echoed, a bit amused at the strange term. He just laughed a bit.

“heh. uh. it’s just an expression for getting a thorough ass beating.”

“I like it,” you confirmed, feeling all the better for the distraction. “It’s so you.”

“i thought puns were so me.”

“They are too. Real rib ticklers.”

You gestured to your injured side and he laughed a bit louder.

 

Of course, the noise seemed to awaken the boys from their stupor, and you tensed as one of them groaned in pain. You shrank away, confidence and fighting spirit extinguished in moments. Boss looked up, then Speedy, then Lackey, and they all looked at you, then at Sans.

 

They looked at him in terror, and you felt his grip on your shoulder tighten.

 

“ah, the dirty humans are awake, huh?”

There was a moment of silence between you all, and you could hear sirens in the distance.

“full attention? good. look, there’s an ambulance and a bunch of cops coming to take care of this mess, so i’ve got some words before we go our separate ways.”

You looked up at him, and again his eye sockets were empty, devouring all forms of light into nothingness. He smiled a big dangerous smile, all full of sharp teeth and a lazy form of malice.

“you three are gonna plead guilty to whatever the police get you in for, and you three are going to leave my girl alone. i don’t want you near her, i don’t want you looking at her. if i catch you even close to her again...”

He leaned forward a bit, and his smile grew so wide you were scared his lower jaw would break off.

“ **i’ll make you regret being born.”**

There was a great fluctuation of magic, and then nothing. Sans’ tone changed almost immediately, going back to the lax attitude he usually had.

“got it?” They all nodded their heads, and Sans leaned back, loosening his grip. “k. good. glad that’s all cleared up.”

 

Police lights and the bright light of an ambulance lit up the alley, and within moments the three men were in handcuffs and you were being put onto a stretcher. You hardly had time to process the new change before police were on you and Sans with questions, while others were picking up your damaged jacket and phone with rubber gloves. 

You didn’t know how to respond to half of them, still fearful and still fuzzy in the head. It took the paramedics shooing them away for you to get a little peace. You were being carted coughing on the stretcher up onto the ambulance when you looked around, realizing Sans wasn’t there. You sat up against your better judgement and saw the other paramedics blocking his way. You coughed and looked up to the woman taking you onto the truck with wide, scared eyes.

“Please don’t keep him away. He saved my life. I need him here.”

“Ma’am are you--”

“He. saved. my. life.”

She paused, you glared despite the injuries and pain, and she motioned to the other medics. The stepped aside and Sans rushed to you, grabbing your hand as the doors closed behind him.

“addy, sweetheart are you gonna be okay?”

“She has fractured ribs, a black eye, and a concussion, but she should recover,” the medic woman replied. She said it with the knowledge that you weren’t the first to be taken like this, and certainly not the last. You squeezed his hand and smiled.

“I’ll be fine bonehead. I beat the crap out of other guys too, remember?”

He smiled back, weakly but with all the love and care in the world. There was a silence as the blare of the sirens screamed around you. You looked at your chest, then his, then met his eyes again.

“Hey... those heart things. What were those?”

 

His mouth pulled into a thin line, and he looked at the paramedic with concern before going back to you.

“i’ll explain once they take care of you, okay?”

 

“Cross your heart?”

 

“i don’t have a heart, remember?”

He winked and you giggled weakly, coughing violently and whimpering at the pain. You didn’t have much else to say while you were so tired, and so he just stood there and held your hand and kept you calm.

 

The ambulance veered around a corner, then another, and suddenly you were screeching to a halt and being taken outside again. You were met with the bright, stale light of an ER room, and Sans huffed, trotting alongside with his fingers tangled with yours.

“let met know when they’re done checking on you okay?”

You nodded.

“They’ll want to do some scans, screenings, whatever. I promise I’ll have them come get you when it’s all done.”

“Sir you need to stand back.” Two nurses came up with a doctor, having been sent from a higher floor to retrieve you. One of them looked at Sans as if she’d seen a stain on the wall, and you had half a mind to say something to her about it. Still, the skeleton stood back, and you saw all the lax expression on his face dwindle into hopelessness as you were carted away once again. How many times had he said people had hurt people close to him? Too many, by the way he looked at you. You tried to reassure him as you started through the doors, but he looked defeated and deflated, tired from seeing this happen so much in other people.

 

You raised an arm and gave him a thumbs up, and he waved as the doors closed.

  
You’d see him soon. You had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow... this was. uh. Something alright.
> 
> I'm gonna write nice stuff for a while I think/hope
> 
>  
> 
> [Bother Me!](http://zonbiconbi.tumblr.com/ask)


	20. You're In a Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're in a hospital. Sans is in a hospital. You learn about SOULS. It's a good time.

Sans had been taking a nap on the couch when his cell phone rang.

  
The moment he’d seen it was from you, he knew that there was something wrong. You never called at this time of night, or at all, you were a texter all the way. For once, he hadn’t fussed too much about you going to class on your own. He tried not to do it, but he worried. Too many people had gotten hurt on his watch, too many people got hurt or died over and over again because he was just too damn lazy.

So when he got your call, he felt a chill go up his spine at your urgency. He looked around for anything you might need while you talked to him. You must have left your pepper spray in your room. Would you need that? You’d probably need that. He didn’t even hesitate to teleport in there to get it, or hesitate to teleport outside... or hesitate to teleport to your school building.

 

The security guard had seen you leave, but hadn’t seen anybody following you, at least not among the other students taking night classes at the time. Businesses in the area were closed, aside from a few seedy looking bars, so there was no use asking any of them for information. And so, with little to go on and full panic setting in, he ran.

Sans was not the kind of guy who ran anywhere. The only times he did it were rare; Timelines where he tried to get to Papyrus before Chara had their way, timelines where people needed him before the strongest feelings of hopelessness had grabbed hold of his thoughts and soul. And now, he was running to find you, somewhere in an alley fighting three men who, from what he heard, weren’t looking to make friends.

 

He heard your voice finally, and despite the protests of his body, he pressed harder to find where you were. You screamed and shouted and roared like a cornered animal, and the men shouted and grunted as you and them remained locked in the sick combat.

When he rounded a corner, he saw you pinned against a brick wall, feet kicking as some human squeezed his hands around your neck.

He welled up with an indescribable about of rage, and for a moment he shook, thinking of all the wonderful, horrible things he was ready to do for what they’ve done to you. He steadied his breathing, approached calmly, and reached out his hand to pull their souls out. They saw this and dropped you, attention on Sans and Sans alone.

 

They were scared of him.

 

_ Good. _

 

~~~

 

You were a mess. They’d done so much to you,  _ too _ much to you. Your left eye was a dark purple and swollen shut, there were bruises forming on your neck, blood coming from your mouth, and you clutched onto yourself like you’d fall apart.

On the outside, Sans was able to talk to you, keep you calm and make little jokes until help arrived, but on the inside he was already dreading whatever came next. He was worried, ready to send those three men to the void and leave them there for an eternity, lost in darkness with only his blasters for “company”. He almost did it, and oh he still wanted to, but you’d held him back, and he didn’t have it in him to go against your wishes.

 

What scared him the most was he couldn’t see your soul. Perhaps it was just the difference between his kind’s and yours, but it seemed like you’d hid it away, prevented anybody from seeing it, like a defensive measure that just happened without thought or meaning. It worried him to no end, because fights like these, near death experiences... It did things to one’s soul. It could leave a crack, or a chip, it could cause your soul to lose some of its color, sometimes it’d lose color entirely. If you’d lost all color, he knew you were in danger.

 

A monster that loses their color is a monster that’s close to falling down.

 

He refused to ever let that happen to you, and so he sat there, arguing with the woman on dispatch, threatening the three men as they woke, and struggling to get by the cops to get to you as you were being carted away.

He stayed with you until they took you beyond the ER room, where he couldn’t follow. And he sat in that room watching other humans come and go, thinking about you, wondering what was going on. He didn’t sleep a wink in that room, he just waited, and worried, and clutched his phone in his hand so hard that people might’ve worried it’d break.

At about midnight, a nurse came out to get him. She was formal and polite, which he was thankful for, and she informed him that you’d requested he be sent up to you the moment you were done with all your tests. Normally non family wouldn’t be allowed at this late hour, she’d told him, but Sans  _ had _ saved your life, and for that they were making an exemption.

 

She told him the room and floor and moved to lead him there, but when she turned around to make sure he was following, he was gone.

 

He was up in your room already, at your side as you slept. You were hooked up to what looked like fluids, and he figured they’d put pain meds into it to allow you sleep. It was more likely that the pain and exhaustion finally got to you, but he was okay with just letting you rest. He’d stay there whether the doctors liked or not, he’d be there when you woke up and be the first person to make sure your soul hadn’t lost color. You were a strong, resilient woman, but even the strongest broke sometimes.

 

He had to make sure you were okay. He had to know he wouldn’t lose you too.

 

~~~

 

You were up before him. Sometime during the night he’d fallen asleep, head resting on his arms at the edge of the bed. He’d been so tired, so scared, and he’d fallen asleep right there next to you, just to make sure you’d be there when he woke.

He slept soundly enough, and it was the feeling of your hand on his skull that awoke him. His eyes opened slowly, head raising ever so slightly as you rubbed your palm softly over his scalp. He sat up and leaned towards you, locking eyes as he tried to figure out if you'd be telling him something horrible or not.

 

“Hey.”

“hey.” He responded, still rather drained. Regardless of his feelings, he sat up straight and scooted his chair closer to you. “how are you feeling, addy?”

“Like shit,” you admitted to him with a smile. “Four broken ribs, terrible black eye, they said I got a concussion too...” You shrugged at that. “I don’t have any fuzzy memories except around the time that guy, uh--”

You slowed, Sans looked upset, he felt upset down to his soul again, and just talking was getting unbearable. Your soul was still hidden and he didn’t like it, and now that you were mentioning being choked to death...

“Dude, Sans, cool your head. They’re in a different hospital, police are watching them, I can afford an awesome lawyer, and I’m not in critical condition.”

Sans snapped out of his trance and sighed in relief. He hadn't even noticed himself starting to shake a little. You were beaten up, but you'd recover... Now if only he knew if there was other damage to worry about.

 

He scooted forward again, reaching for your hand, which you took to his barely controlled delight. He ground his teeth slightly and looked around the room. He sweat a little, this was a dangerous thing to reveal to a human, but he needed to know.

You would find out sooner or later anyhow.

“‘m glad you're ok. but uh,” he swallowed nervously, “I gotta check something else.”

“Did the doctor not cover something?”

He shook his head, putting his hand over the one he held. “no, it’s not something he’d know to do.” He chuckled nervously. “heh, uh, actually it’s a bit of a monster secret. pretty sure humans would have a mass existential crisis if they knew about it.”

You just stared at him, waiting for him to continue. He cleared his throat and continued.

“so uh, you saw those heart things right?”

You nodded.

“okay so. those are uh, those are souls.” He gestured to his chest. “monsters have ‘em and humans have ‘em.”

Your brows furrowed. “I’m on a lot of pain meds right now, dude. You’re pulling my leg.”

“i’m not, i promise.” he puts his hand closer to you, and you feel his magic right over your heart. “souls are real, they’re the source of magic for monsters and human mages it’s uh...” he sweat a bit more and locked eyes with you. “i want to bring yours out to check on it. they can get damaged after shit you’ve just gone through. is that okay?”

You looked hesitant, and for a moment even his magic couldn’t quite find your soul. His eyes grew wide with concern, and he silently pleaded with you.

“i promise i’ll explain everything once it’s out, just let me make sure you’re okay... please”

Your expression softened, and you sighed, giving him a weak smile.  “Alright. I trust you.”

 

His eyes lit up, and he felt the start of a smile on his face creep in. He squeezed your hand and then slowly, softly, placed his hand on your sternum. He exchanged a look with you, you nodded, and he channeled magic into his phalanges.

 

He reached into you, found your soul, and pulled it free.

 

~———————~

 

Your soul was purple.

 

Not just any purple, you observed as it floated there less than a foot from your body, but a warm byzantium purple, rich and vibrant, though sadly dulled along the edges. At once you felt all kinds of feelings crashing in on you from the realization of what was before you. 

There was shock and fear that this was your very being: All you were and all you would be, and all of it formed into a little purple heart. There was awe at it’s existence, and the fact that every human and monster had one, and they were  _ colorful _ . This was what Undyne meant by the magic colors! Oh you wished you remembered what purple represented, you were probably too wasted at the point you’d had a shot of it.

And then you felt, well, exposed. This was your everything floating outside of your body. This was your personality, your life, your memories, you didn’t know why you didn't realize it before, but that’s what it had to be, right? That’s what souls were. It was outside of your body, floating without guidance, anchored to you by an invisible bond you prayed would never break... And Sans, oh Sans, he was awestruck by it.

 

You’d never seen his eyes grow so big, or his white pupils get so bright. He had left your hand so that both of his were gently cupping your soul. He didn’t touch it, but it seemed to float in his hands as if he was holding it. He watched it, studied it, and for some reason you felt like this was supposed to be a  _ very _ intimate moment. He could do anything he wanted with it out in the open, this was you condensed into a tiny cartoon heart. He looked up to you in something close to reverence and you blushed.

“it’s-- wow. it’s amazing.”

“It’s something,” you admitted, trying hard not to lose your mind. “It’s my favorite color!”

“that tends to happen, yeah,” he replied, putting his fixation back on your soul. “no cracks or chips... you’re okay.”

 

His entire body slumped in relief, and his hands still gently cupped your soul like it was the most precious object, and he continued to stare at it before blinking and slowly moving to push it back into you. Out of curiosity you reached out to it, but you were repelled, like magnets of the same pole. You furrowed your brows and he just chuckled, and with a popping feeling, the soul sank back into your body, and his hand rested at your sternum again. After a moment, his hands left yours and folded in his lap, and he looked up at you with a smile that wasn’t forced.

“thanks. it’s uh, it’s easier to know that your soul doesn’t have any cracks from that. i’d’ve killed myself if anything had happened to it.”

You laughed softly, ribs aching as you noticed that the medicine was wearing off a little. You frowned a little, thinking about the revelation of souls, and how much yours seemed to mean to him. You furrowed your brows, looking down at your chest, wondering, pondering.

“So my soul is real... and it can be damaged?” You scratched your head idly, trying to make sense of it. “Is it... fragile?”

“monster souls are a lot more fragile than a human’s soul,” he responded to you. “human souls are super strong, it takes a lot for you to start showing cracks. i mean,  _ hell, _ a weaker monster’s soul would have shattered if they’d been in your situation... a few monsters’ have...”

 

There was a long pause, and his smile became strained, eyes dimming as his head lowered. You considered reaching out, but- you just didn’t know...

 

“Anybody you knew?” you asked quietly.

“heh,” he chuckled bitterly, “i know a lot of monsters. not all of them as personally as, say, undyne or alphys... but you hear a name you know follow with “fell down” and you just remember that things are still terrible for us.”

You had to think about that for a moment or two. You knew that monsters had been hurt a lot since coming to the surface, but this falling down thing was new. It was eerie how much you realized you didn’t know, despite dating a monster.

 

“What’s falling down?”

 

His eyes darkened further, and you could see him refraining from shaking. From what, you weren’t sure. It could have been rage, fear, sorrow. He looked up at you finally and sighed.

“it’s... when enough bad things happen to a monster, or when a monster’s soul cracks too much and shatters-- we, uh, we just... fall down. alph said it’s like going into a coma, but we never wake up. we give up, fall down, and turn to dust.”

The way he was talking about it was so personal, so intimate... he’d dealt with this before, hadn’t he?

“yeah,” he seemed to respond to your silent question. “it’s-- something recent for me. i’m not really up for talking about it.”

“That’s fine, Sans.” You responded quickly, seeing him start to unravel. “You don’t have to share that sorta stuff if it’s too soon.” 

He didn’t respond right away, so you reached out an arm to him with a determined sigh. “Come here, bonehead.”

He didn’t even protest, he just looked to you with tired eyes, shuffling forward and allowing you to wrap your arm around him. He was shaking, slightly, and you again realized how close this must have felt to him, how close it was for you. You were still scared, so was he, and you pressed your cheek against his and squeezed his shoulders tight.

“I promise I’ll never fall down, okay? We’re sticking together through this mess, I’ll make sure my soul stays healthy and crack free, but you gotta promise that you won’t fall on me either.”

“ok.” He mumbled against your neck, immobile and cold and full of a sadness you knew ran deep. You reached up and stroked the back of his skull as he leaned back. You smiled at him, and he attempted one back, though you knew he was still beating himself up.

“‘m sorry i didn’t get there sooner, i should’ve--”

“You did everything you could, hell, you saved my life. You did what you could and more.”

He deflated, leaning against your hand as you moved it to cup his cheek.

“alright.”

 

You held in that moment for an eternity, overwhelmed and happy for the reassuring contact.

“So what does purple mean?” You finally asked. He didn’t move too much, still pressing his cheek against your open palm, but that did give him a moment to look up at you with a little less worry. He looked down at your chest, where your soul was, then back to you.

“it means your strongest quality is perseverance.”

“You mean determination?” You asked. He shook his head.

“nah determination is red. plus it’s pretty rare for that to be the strongest.”

“So...” you furrowed your brows slightly, rubbing a thumb along his cheekbone. “What’s the difference besides color?”

He turned to press his teeth against your palm, then took your hand in both of his, rubbing his fingers across your damaged knuckles. He hummed in thought, figuring out how to best word it.

“well,” he started, “they’re really similar, but i think the difference is determination is about having a goal and pursuing it no matter what happens, and perseverance is the willpower to keep moving forward, even if loads of stuff gets thrown at you.”

 

Papyrus’ words of being “true to your soul” suddenly made a hell of a lot more sense. You laughed a bit at the idea of it, but maybe that “trait” of yours was part of why you’d willed yourself to fight instead of run last night. Or was that determination? Didn’t Undyne say something about secondary traits? Your soul  _ was _ a really warm purple after all, red-violet by dictionary terms.

 

There was a short while where you both sat there in silence, lost in thought. Eventually, Sans caught your attention with a short, deliberate cough, and your gaze went to him.

“so uh, if the police need more info and stuff... maybe don’t mention my extensive use of gravity magic?”

“I’ll just tell them that you pulled them off of me and saved my ass. That’s not a lie after all.”

“that works. i just don’t wanna scare humans into taking the wrong side.”

“You’re a skeleton! You’re plenty spooky already.”

He leaned in with a lazy grin. “you think i’m spooky?”

You, despite budding protests from your ribs, leaned towards him in playful challenge.

“Yeah, spooky scary. You’re a real spine tingler.”

He snorted, screwing his eyes shut as he laughed. “ouch. come on, leave the skeleton puns to the skeleton.”

You leaned in further, a gleam in your eyes. “What are you gonna do about it, huh?”

He was meeting your challenge head on, eyes lidding as his grin grew.

“lots of stuff. there’s taking a nap, off key trumpet playing, endless puns...” He was inches from you, and you could feel his breath on your face and neck. “see, you’re talkin’ big talk for a lady stuck on a hospital bed.”

You moved so you were almost touching foreheads, a stupid smile on your face as you tried to keep a level head.

“I won't be here forever. You saved my ass, remember?”

That sobered him up slightly, though he didn’t move, locking eyes with you. His brows furrowed for a moment, then relaxed. “yeah. and you’re gonna be ok.”

 

“That’s right.”   
  


“yup.”

 

You both paused, mere inches apart, staring into each other’s eyes like you’d been directed to. One of his hands left yours, hesitantly reaching to your face, though not quite putting in the energy to get all the way there. The little pupils in his sockets were small and fiercely bright, his grin had shrunk a little as the amusement was replaced with something else.

“addy...”

“Yeah?”

“can i, uh--” his hand got closer, your eyes lidded slightly...

 

The door burst open, and suddenly the room was full of noise.

 

“ADELAIDE!”

 

Before you’d had time to blink, Sans had done the smallest, hastiest teleports you’d ever seen, so that he was now sitting back in his chair with said chair at least half a foot away. It made it look like you’d been in conversation, instead of... well... what things were  _ about _ to be. There was a rush of color as monsters seemed to rush in from all sides. Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus, even Toriel, who were at either side of you in an instant.

“SANS CONTACTED ME THIS MORNING, ARE YOU OKAY?”

“Papyrus you moron, does it look like she’s okay?” Undyne half growled, “She’s in a fuckin HOSPITAL.”

“P-Papyrus contacted us earlier, b-but my phone was off, so I d-didn’t know until he was at the door with Tori.” Alphys said, looking guilty. “That w-was about fifteen minutes ago.”

Quite frankly, you were overwhelmed by the sudden influx of conversation, and you had half a mind to shout at them to calm down. But you understood the concern, and put up your hand instead. They quieted and you smiled a little half heartedly.

“I’m fine you guys. I mean. My ribs are a little broken in one area, and I’ve got this black eye and a nasty headache--”

“That black eye is AWESOME.” Undyne said, cutting over you. “Must have been one hell of a fight.”

“It was,” you said sternly, “and I could have died if it hadn’t been for Sans.”

Sans just shrugged, as if it wasn’t a huge deal. But didn’t stop Undyne from leaning down to crush him in a tight hug.

“AWESOME. YOU SAVED OUR HUMAN FRIEND.”

 

“heh. sure did.”

 

Papyrus was quick to pull out his phone and start punching in a number. In all the chaos, namely of Undyne trying to pry details from Sans and Alphys trying to hold her back, you felt a large paw on your shoulder. You looked to the other side where Toriel stood, a frightened, sad look on her face.

“Are you okay, my child?”

You winced as Undyne’s voice picked up for a moment, but you eventually managed a shrug.

“I mean, physically I’m roughed up, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to have trouble going anywhere on my own for a while, but... I’ll be okay. I’m gonna be okay.”

She smiled softly. “I would give you a hug for comfort’s sake, but I wouldn’t want to harm your ribs further.” Her face suddenly got stern, and you knew what question came next. “Speaking of harm. Where are the three that did this two you?”

You winced, face getting sour. “Another hospital...”

She still looked stern, as if she was ready to go over there and give them a harsh lecture until they regretted their life choices. You shook your head and patted her paw.

“Toriel, it’s fine. The police have everything now, the minute they’re fit to leave they’re being detained until things are worked out.”

“Good,” she huffed. “I can’t stand for such behavior. What horrible people.”

You nodded in agreement, shrinking slightly at the ferocity and judgement in her voice. It was more than clear that she was not a monster of violence like Undyne might have been, but the spitfire in her words gave you the idea that she was not the kind of woman you pushed around.

 

You were about to speak up again when Papyrus shoved his phone at you, forcing your reflexes into grabbing it and bringing it to your ear without second thought. He probably said something, but between him and the other voices in the room it was hard to pick out. You just made a face of confusion and spoke into the phone.

“Hello?”

“Adelaide, darling!” Ah, it was Mettaton. You sat back a little, happy to be able to focus on one voice.

“Hey dude.”

“Don't you ‘hey dude’ me! Papyrus said you were attacked and you're in the hospital! I'd be over there right now with the rest but I'm across the country.”

You laughed a bit, groaning at the pain in your chest. “I'll be fine, really! I can handle some broken ribs I promise.”

“The fact that you were assaulted at all is absolutely atrocious!”

Ah, there was the word of the day, the one you were trying to avoid. You bit your lip nervously and scratched at the bruises on your neck.

“Mettaton,” you sighed, “I'll be okay. I can afford a good lawyer and settle this whole matter without too many turned heads. I know that's where you're going with this.”

“Nonsense, you need this story heard, and you need the  _ best lawyers  _ thanks to Sans’ involvement. Modern man is not so fond of magic, after all.”

“How did you know--”

“It's his signature ability, dear. Though I don't think I've ever heard of him getting into fights before. You really must mean something to him.”

“You think so, huh?” You replied quietly. You looked over to the skeleton on question, who was chatting away with his brother. He looked over to you briefly and he winked at you. Something buzzed around in your stomach as you gripped the phone. Eventually, you focused back on the phone, ripping yourself away from the moment.

“Mettaton, can I call you back later to work this stuff out? I think I want to get out of this hospital first...” Your head lowered a bit. “I'd love the help though. You're great at getting things rolling.”

“Of course I am,” he boasted back. “You give me a call whenever you're ready, I'll make sure you're set up with everything you need.”

“Thanks. I'll talk to you soon ok?”

“Of course! You take care~”

“See ya.”

 

You let him hang up, sitting there in the bed looking around at a handful of your monster friends. Again your eyes fell to the skeleton you called both roommate and boyfriend, a sharp realization falling upon you as your face began to flush.

 

You were pretty sure you were in love with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Bother Me!](http://zonbiconbi.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
> I'm SO SORRY that this took so long to get out! I hit a super rough spot IRL, I've been dealing with school and rentals and moving locations and it's been super hectic.
> 
> BUT!!! The chapter is up now!!! And I'm glad to say that I'm really happy with it, esp now that her SOUL color is out!


	21. You're FINALLY out of The Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Man. It feels like you've been in this hospital for months.
> 
> You talk to the nurse and go home. That's it.

“I can’t  _ what?!” _

 

About an hour after your friends had barged in to visit you at the hospital, the doctor finally made his rounds to come see you. Of course, that meant all of them had to leave (except Sans, you didn't want to admit it but you knew you'd be on edge still if he left too).

 

The doctor had good news. You could leave after a final X-ray examination of your ribs. He'd already prepared your medications for the six week recovery, but the time your broken bones would need to heal came with some rules. Among them, no running and no heavy lifting, anything that could put strain on your torso could compromise your ribs and slow the healing process. Lord help you, they could fracture again if you were too careless.

That, of course, meant six weeks of no gym. Which meant you couldn’t reasonably do weights  _ or _ cardio training, which meant you'd lose progress, which meant Undyne--

“Undyne is gonna kill me.”

Sans felt bad, you knew he did, but even he couldn't help but laugh at that statement.

“addy, sweetheart, i’m pretty sure she'll be fine with you taking a few weeks off. it's not like she doesn't know what happened.”

“Yeah she wouldn't stop complimenting my black eye,” you grumbled back.

The doctor waited patiently for your answer, occasionally eyeing Sans with a note of worry. You didn’t blame him of course. You figured that years of medical school just didn’t prepare you for a living skeleton. They were supposed to sit in the corners of science classes, held together by wires and often left with some kid sticking googly eyes into the sockets. You can't put googly eyes in a skeleton that has the ability to say ‘no’.

You laughed quietly at the thought of Sans with googly eyes, then stretched your arms.

 

“Alright. Lets get it over with, I want to go home.”

There was a pause, a look exchanged between you and the doctor, and a sigh.

“I need to be pushed around in a wheelchair, dont I?”

“We just want to make sure, Miss Rutherford. Once you’re out of the hospital you’re free to walk.”

You looked to Sans with a hangdog expression, he just smiled and shrugged.

“you heard the doc. go get your bones looked at.”

“My bones that are weird because they have squishy stuff thrown on top even though they’re more fragile than monster bones?”

“yeah, that.” He laughed, and you made a face as a nurse came in with the wheelchair. You eyed it, sobering up at the thought of being pushed around. You could walk just fine, it was just a concussion and broken ribs...

“hey.” You felt hard phalanges on your shoulder, breaking you from your troubled glance. Sans tilted his head to the side as your attention came back to him. “it’ll be fine, i’ll be down in the waiting area when you’re done, we’ll go home, you’ll see lucy and pancake, paps will make you grilled cheese, we’ll watch that one anime you’ve been bugging me about for weeks. k?”

“I’m  _ not _ scared,” you muttered with furrowed brows, moving to get up from your bed as the nurses finally removed you from the IVs.

“never said you were.” he confirmed, taking your hand nonetheless to help you to the chair (help you appreciated, as your swollen shut black eye made depth perception hard). “just a bit on edge. happens to the best of us.”

You couldn’t deny that one at the very least, and you sighed.  
“You got me there, bonehead.” You beckoned to the doctor and nurses, and they were quick to come to your side to cart you away. “I’ll see you soon.”

“seeya.” Sans replied, and you let your head droop little by little as you were taken away from the room, with only a single glance back to watch as he was escorted to the waiting room.

Down the hall you were moved along having friendly, if not idle conversation with the nurse doing the driving. Into the closest elevator and down two floors he took you, to a hallway of labs and equipment. You knew the drill from last night, coming into a room that was relatively empty, save the table and daunting machine above it.

“I know you were just in here last night,” he said, “but I need to go over it again with you to be sure. Head injuries and trauma can affect memory.”

“Alright.”

The doctor was already in the adjacent room, leaving you with the nurse. He directed you to the table.

“We’re going to have you lie down on your back on the table, then I’m going to put a lead blanket over your chest for the imaging process.”

“Sounds about right. Radiation protection and all that.”

You hopped up, wincing a bit as you suddenly realized the benefit of being connected to tubes full of painkillers. Sure you had needles up your arms before, but at least it didn’t ache. Hell, now you could feel the ache from where the little bastards had been. You looked back at the nurse and he gestured towards the table, moving towards the side of the room where lead blankets were stored along the wall. You moved more slowly to get onto the table, belly up as he’d instructed. He placed the appropriate cover over your chest area and left the room, instructing you to keep as still as possible. Now all you had to do was lie and wait for results.

 

Lying there of course was agony for you, as your mind wandered off into, well, lovey-dovey stuff. You’d thought you were in love with a damn skeleton about an hour or two ago, but now you were wondering about that. Did you really love him? Or did you only love the fact that he’d saved your life? Sure, you two were dating, but  _ love _ love was something that developed over a period of time... Ugh, you hated to dwell on it, maybe you’d talk with him when you were out of the hospital and in a better mindplace.

Less than five minutes later and you were back in the chair, talking again to the nurse as the doctor went off to file everything and make sure your prescriptions would be waiting at the desk.

“What’s the final damage?” You asked.

“Well, bruising around the left eye that’s swollen it shut for starters. There’s bruising on your neck, luckily no major veins were ruptured from that.” He turned a corner with you, continuing to list off everything from your file. “The concussion you have is likely to cause slight memory problems and irritability for a week or so. There are some general bruises and scrapes, which are to be expected from a fight. And the ribs? Well, from the clavicle down, the second, third, and fourth ribs are cracked on your right side, so try to sleep on your left side if you’re not the kind to sleep on your back.”

“Well I don’t sleep on my back so there’s a win right off the bat for recovery.”

He laughed at that, taking you down what looked to be the last hallway ‘til freedom.

“You’ll be up and back to your old self in no time.” He looked around and slowed his pace, leaning forward to speak more softly.  “And don’t worry, Doctor Hodgens and I are on your side, whatever you chose to do about what happened. We already have copies ready per your boyfriend’s request.”

You laughed. “Smart skeleton.”

“That’s for sure,” he agreed. “He had a little trouble last night with one of our interns, but he kept his cool despite, er, screaming.”

You groaned. “Oh god. Don’t tell me, they-”

“She came in at about one in the morning to check your IVs and, uh, lets just say seeing a skeleton in a dark room with a patient was startling for a recent college grad.”

“Sans and his brother are the only skeleton monsters I’ve ever met, so the shock isn’t exactly odd. Hell, I was alarmed when I first met them too. Walking symbols of death and all that.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Some people in the waiting room were complaining about it before he was allowed up to see you. Most of them weren’t even going on about the death thing, just the monster aspect.”

You shook your head. “People suck...” you look back at him. “You hang around monsters a lot then?”

He shrugged, pushing through the doors to the waiting room with you.

“Recently yeah. My little brother is very shy, doesn’t talk a lot and he used to tell me that classmates made fun of him. You know, typical ‘shy kid in a public school’ stuff. But with monster kids he opens up, he’s got lots of friends now.”

“That explains why you haven’t given my buddies any weird looks.”

 

“nah danny here’s another good human.”

 

You and the nurse looked up as Sans sauntered over, hands stuffed in his pockets as he wore his usual lazy grin. you perked up almost instantly, and Sans gave you a quick wink.

“he drops into grillby’s every now and then. mostly keeps to himself but he’s pretty cool.”

“Please,” ‘Danny’ laughed, “It’s Daniel when I’m on duty.” He held out a hand to Sans. “Nice to meet you officially. I see you at that bar all the time.”

“sans.” your boyfriend replied, taking Daniel’s hand and shaking it firmly. You sighed quietly in relief at the lack of a whoopee cushion. Sans smiled at him. “yeah grillbz and i are friends, been a regular since the underground days.”

You just sat back and let them talk, happy to have the focus off of you for a short bit. Daniel and Sans broke the handshake and Sans put his free hand back in his pocket. You took the initiative to stand, scrunching your face as you almost bumped your heels into the wheelchair. You really got to ask Undyne how to get used to the lack of depth perception...

“Well if you two are going to bond over your mutual love of a fire monster, I'm gonna go to the desk and get my prescriptions and papers. Make sure they know to call my insurance company and all that.”

Daniel snapped out of the conversation with Sans immediately. “Oh! Sorry. Yeah let's get you set up, just over here.”

He went towards the counter, and you and Sans trailed behind. Sans of course stayed close, sticking an elbow out in a subtle gesture of support. If you started to hurt too much, he'd be there.

Once the insurance was all said and done and you'd been handed your pharmaceutical bag of painkillers and the like, paid what the insurance couldn't cover (thankfully it  _ was _ mostly covered), and filled out your remaining papers, you were finally free to go home.

Daniel saw you two out the door before returning to work on the thankfully slow day, reminding you two that his and the doctor’s contact information was on your papers. You looked around once he was gone and it was just the two of you. Bright as day could get and pleasant, but the uneasy feeling still sat in your gut. Sans must have noticed the discomfort, because he draped his arm lazily over your shoulders, leaning on your undamaged side.

“so. we gotta have lunch with danny sometime.”

“Yeah?” you responded half heartedly, cracking a smile. “Sure that isn’t an excuse for you to go to Grillby’s?”

“come on _ ,”  _ He chuckled, moving his arm to your waist to pull you closer. “when have i ever needed an excuse... you ready?”

Right. Teleporting. You nodded, thankful for the magical lift through space.

It was only a moment, and it made your chest ache, but soon enough you were both home. You sighed, hands loosening on the bag of papers and prescriptions, and Sans let go of you. You looked around your apartment, calming down bit by bit at the sight of familiar posters, framed pictures, furniture, and, of course, your pets.

With worries set aside now that you felt safe, you turned towards Sans with a grin.

“Did I hear something about anime and grilled cheese?”

He shuffled his foot a little. “i... may have been hoping you’d forget about the anime promise.”

“Aw come on,” you pouted. “Mob Psycho 100 is totally your thing.”

He paused, then sighed. “can’t say no to an injured person. but we gotta wait for papyrus to get home for break before--”

The door handle jiggled, you heard the sound of keys, and the door itself practically burst open. You ended up jumping, raising your fists in a defensive position. Your heart raced for a moment until you saw it was just Papyrus, looking perplexed as he stood still in the doorway. You sighed and let your hands relax and drop to your sides.

“Just you... sorry.”

Papyrus composed himself like lightning, shutting the door (more gently behind him).

“IT IS QUITE ALRIGHT, ADELAIDE. I FORGOT THAT ONE CAN BE JUMPY AFTER A TOUGH BATTLE.”  He held up a small bag of groceries, as if putting it on display.  “I HAVE BEEN PERMITTED THE REST OF THE DAY OFF TO CARE FOR YOUR WELLBEING. I HAVE BOUGHT ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS FOR THE FINEST GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH AND TOMATO SOUP.”

Your mouth watered a bit, and you realized you hadn’t eaten yet today. “It’ll be ready soon, right?”

“OF COURSE,” he beamed at you, “THOUGH I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, COULD PREPARE THE SOUP FROM SCRATCH, I HAD A FEELING YOU WOULD NOT HAVE EATEN YET TODAY, THUS BEEN TERRIBLY HUNGRY.”  
He set the bag down and fished out a can of soup with an unfamiliar label.  
“THE MONSTER VERSION OF YOUR CAMPBELLS MAY NOT TASTE QUITE THE SAME, BUT IT WILL BE VERY GOOD FOR YOUR SOUL.”

You smiled warmly. “Aw Papyrus, that’s so sweet!”

He merely puffed out his chest and flipped his scarf dramatically. “I AM INDEED VERY SWEET.” He smiled at you and winked. “NOW ENJOY YOUR TV TIME WITH SANS, I WILL TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING.”

You looked over to Sans expectantly, then to the couch. He shrugged and walked on by you to take a seat first. “come on. let’s watch your psychic powers anime.”

You smiled, sitting down (with only a small stumble into the couch. Damn eye) next to him. He took the initiative to be on your good side so you could lean your weight against him. As the sound of sizzling butter started up, you grabbed remote, leaning back pressing your cheek against your monster boyfriend’s ribcage as he wrapped an arm around you.

 

You turned the tv on, and for a while forgot all your worries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -DOGEZA BOWS- I'M SO SORRY IT'S BEEN FOREVER AAAAAAAAHHHHHH Here's a little something. It was going to be longer but I felt bad ;;
> 
> [Bother me!](http://zonbiconbi.tumblr.com/ask)


	22. Taking the day off is awesome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Addy has a much deserved day off, teaches Sans and Papyrus about chemistry, and gets words of wisdom in return

You were very,  _ very _ thankful that you didn’t have Friday classes.

 

You needed the rest of the day off after spending the night in that hospital, and frankly the thought of even going outside made your blood run cold.

That wasn’t to say being indoors all day didn’t have its benefits. For example, not only did you get to wear pj’s all day, but you’d just enjoyed a really fucking good grilled cheese sandwich made by your doting roommate. Papyrus was right about monster food being extra good for your soul. Now that you were aware of it, you noticed it subtly feeling stronger as you ate, a warm feeling washing over you. Papyrus and Sans both seemed to look at you as you ate, and you realized they were trying to watch your soul for improvements. With your guard let down, you imagined it wouldn’t be too difficult, and Sans especially seemed relieved at what you imagined was its color brightening. You weren't sure how to view it for yourself, so you weren’t quite sure what they could see.

 

Speaking of Sans, he was functioning as a sort of lean-against pillow for you while the two of you watched anime to your heart’s content. He kept his stomach manifested under his shirt for you, so you didn’t smack your face into steely, rigid ribs. He gave you the room to sit up and eat when Papyrus presented lunch, but his arm was already outstretched by the time you leaned back. Almost on cue, Papyrus spoke up.

“ADDY. IF IT IS ALRIGHT, BEFORE I GO BACK TO WORK I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR RECOVERY YOU WERE GIVEN.”

You craned your head to look over to him as he hovered near the couch, wringing his hands.

“No heavy exercise or lifting, take pain medication two to three times a day depending on pain, deep breathing exercises throughout the day, take medication for my head before bed... Uh...” You thought back to the doctor’s words, scratching your head. “Water... I think? Rest? Six weeks for the ribs, uh--”  You waved your hand. “Details are a bit fuzzy, the official papers are up on the counter.”

“AH. YES OF COURSE. THANK YOU.” You watched him as he grabbed the papers and put them into his favorite messenger bag (embroidered with Mettaton’s more boxy form) that he took with him to work. 

Your brows furrowed as you remembered that Papyrus had a habit of... er, mothering his brother a bit.

“So uh,” you started, getting his attention before he could say goodbye and head for the door. “Why do you need to know all the details in the first place?”

He put his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out slightly.

“WELL, SINCE YOU HAVE STARTED DATING MY LAZYBONES BROTHER.”

“heh. guilty as charged, bro.”

“YES. YOU ARE VERY GUILTY. THAT BEING SAID, ADELAIDE,” his eyes were back on you. “AS YOU ARE DATING SAID BROTHER, I WORRY THAT YOU MAY TAKE AFTER HIS LAZY HABITS AND FORGET THESE MENIAL TASKS. EITHER THAT, OR YOU WILL STUBBORNLY REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR LIMITATIONS AND REFUSE HELP, AS YOU OFTEN DO.”

You crossed your arms over your chest and scowled. “I don't do that...”

“ADDY JUST LAST WEEK YOU ALMOST INJURED YOURSELF TRYING TO REACH THE CUPBOARDS ABOVE THE REFRIGERATOR. I ENDED UP HAVING TO CATCH YOU BEFORE YOUR HEAD HIT THE COUNTER BEHIND YOU.”

Your face got hot as Sans chortled, and you shot him a look. He just continued to chuckle as you pinched the bridge of your nose and sighed.

“Okay okay. You got me, man. Just...” you looked up to Papyrus with pleading eyes. “For the love of god please don't get carried away.”

He struck what you'd learned to be the royal guard salute, which in retrospect wasn’t much different from most salutes.

“YOU HAVE MY WORD.” He announced proudly, before promptly dropping his pose to pick up his work bag to leave. “I’LL SEE YOU LATER.” He gave the two of you a... ugh,  _ much _ too knowing look, before smiling smugly. “YOU TWO BEHAVE.” He winked then, complete with a spoken ‘wink’ alongside it, that left your face hot again.

 

He was already gone before you could demand what he was trying to imply.

 

All you could do was huff and try to put focus back on the TV. It worked for about a minute or two, but Sans just had to speak up.

 

“good luck.”

 

“Hm?” You twisted your shoulders slightly to look to him. One eye was closed as if he’d been napping through Papyrus’ spiel, but you knew better.

“papyrus not getting carried away? remember all the puzzles i told you about from when we first met frisk?”

You thought about that, recalling a few particular stories. Slowly, your stomach plummeted, and you crossed your arms, shifting back onto Sans.

“Let’s finish this episode...”

 

He rubbed your shoulder and chuckled, leaning his cheek on your head as you both settled back down for the rest of the show.

 

~———————~

 

By some miracle, the two of you got through the entire season in a single sitting, working on the last two episodes by the time Papyrus was home from work.

 

There was something really satisfying about seeing Sans stay awake the whole time. Normally he'd fall asleep halfway through the first episode, but with this his eyes were glued to the screen. You teased him about it, given his reluctance before. But, to be fair, all he’d known before was ‘Mew Mew Kissy Cutie', so his initial reaction didn't really surprise you. Was that really all he'd been exposed to? Even with his months on the surface had he really not seen anything?

 

“I'm making a list.”

 

“huh?”

 

He looked down at you, peeling away from the ending credits to give you his attention. You had a big grin on your face.

“If this is the only anime besides Kissy Cutie that you've seen, then we have some enlightenment to do.”

He groaned. “oh no...”

“Oh  _ yes _ .” You confirmed. “Gurren Lagann, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fairy Tail. We are watching  _ all of it _ .”

You could see him thinking of it, none of them sounded like cutesy cat themed magical girl stuff and he could get behind that.

“so... nothing like kissy cutie?”

“Well,” you admitted, “There’s Sailor Moon, but that’s a classic and worth giving a chance.” Your smile grew almost wicked. “And hey, if you  _ really _ hate magical girl anime, we can watch Madoka Magica.”

“ma-what now?”

“Just trust me on that one. It gets intense.”

He hummed thoughtfully, closing his eyes and scratching his chest through his shirt. He opened an eye after a while and looked to you, a hint of a smile forming on his face.

“alright sweetheart. i trust you.”

You clapped with excitement, wincing a bit at how the sudden movement hurt your ribs. Before you knew it, two plates of spaghetti were on the coffee table before the two of you.

“IF YOU ARE DONE TALKING ABOUT YOUR ANIME, I HAVE REHEATED SOME SPAGHETTI FOR YOU TWO.” Papyrus announced. You both looked to him and he rubbed his neck apologetically.

“I APOLOGIZE. I WAS INTENDING TO MAKE LASAGNA, BUT THE STORE CLOSED EARLY TODAY, SO I COULD NOT BUY THE RIGHT NOODLES.”

“Aww, no it’s okay Papyrus.” you leaned forward to grab the plate and fork. “Leftovers is perfect.”

“yeah it’s no problem bro.” Sans added, “s’been a long day for everybody. we’re all pretty worked--”

“DOWN TO THE BONE YES. YOU HAVE USED THAT PUN MANY TIMES.”

 

Sans shrugged with a big grin, reaching to get his plate as Papyrus plopped himself down on the nearby recliner with his own food. You had begun to stuff your face in a manner that would definitely  _ not _ be considered lady-like.

At first you weren’t sure why you were so hungry, but as you slurped up a few noodles some old lessons from your dad passed through your head.

_ “Adrenaline takes a huge toll on the body, Addy.”  _ Your father’s words echoed in your mind.  _ “Animals and humans both use a lot of energy when they go into their fight or flight mode. It’s a survival tactic. You use all that adrenaline to avert the danger of a predator or natural disaster so that you can reach safety. Using up all that energy makes you hungry, thirsty, and tired for a while afterwards, but since you’ve reached safety, you can have the luxury of recovering to survive another day.” _

Your spaghetti was nearly gone by the time the memory faded, and the brothers were chatting idly to each other about work, clearly noticing that you were a bit... well, focused. You grabbed a napkin and wiped your mouth of sauce, sitting back and twirling your fork afterwards to indicate that you were back to the present.

 

Papyrus fixed you a look and you froze. He looked serious and you weren’t sure what he was going to say.

 

“ADELAIDE WHEN YOU ARE DONE, PLEASE BE SURE TO TAKE YOUR MEDICINE AND DO BREATHING EXERCISES.”

You sighed quietly and nodded, gaining a smile from him as he bounced back to his normal self.

“GOOD! WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE YOUR RECOVERY IS EASY.”

“Right,” you quickly nodded again, fidgeting with your fork, “right yeah.”

He tilted his head, smile fading yet again. “ADELAIDE ARE YOU OKAY?”

“Huh?” You looked up, realizing that both monsters were staring. You looked down at yourself, dabbed at the corner of your mouth to be sure there wasn’t more sauce, then back to them. Sans leaned forward a bit.

“you seem a bit out of it, addy.”

“Oh! Sorry.” You smiled apologetically, as if to reassure them. “I was just thinking about why I was so hungry and realizing it’s because of, er, last night.”

Sans looked at his brother, then back to you. “well yeah. monsters are like that too when we fight.”

“Yeah?”

He nodded. “yeah. ‘course for us because we’re made of magic and use magic for fighting, it takes a bit of a toll on our souls. so we get really hungry after.”  
That explained a lot, at least with their insistence of feeding you when you were highly stressed. Sans paused, visibly contemplating something.  
“dunno why it's the same for humans, at least non magical ones?”

“Humans have magic?” You asked.

“well I mean not  _ anymore.” _ He responded. “the last time any monster saw a human mage was...” His brows furrowed for a moment, and suddenly his face turned glum. “was when they were forcing us underground.”

 

You could see him thinking back to life under Ebott, white pupils dimming as even his smile started to falter. You set down your now empty plate and looked to him as he hunched into a tired position. Papyrus looked like he wasn't sure what to say, merely tilting his head with a worried frown.

 

You scooted back to Sans until you were shoulder to shoulder with him, then you spoke.

 

“Adrenaline.”

 

He blinked, gloom replaced with confusion. “huh?”

 

You shrugged, folding your arms over your aching chest. Papyrus looked between you two and stood up.

“I WILL GO GET YOUR MEDICINE WHILE YOU MAKE MY BROTHER FEEL BETTER.”

Okay... you winced a bit at that last bit. He wasn’t wrong but, er, the directness of it was a bit startling. You just smiled thankfully at him and he grinned back, darting away with all your empty plates for good measure.

 

You waited for a moment, then turned back to your boyfriend, ready to dazzle him with sciencey things. 

 

“It’s a chemical.” You started. “Most animals have it. We have these specialized things attached to our kidneys called adrenal glands. Usually they just work to produce normal old hormones and stuff the human (or animal) body needs to survive, like regulating blood pressure and stuff.”

He was quiet, intrigued, and starting to be pulled out of the low he’d sunk himself into. You continued without fail.

“When we get stressed, like, really fucking stressed, the adrenal glands release adrenaline into our body, giving us a temporary boost to our energy and strength. It’s a survival tactic.”

You paused, studying his expression. He was contemplative for a second, brows furrowed in thought.

 

“so... it’s a chemical response to perceived danger?”

 

“Yeah!” You said excitedly. “So, for instance, if a rabbit sees a fox coming at it, the adrenal glands pump adrenaline into its body so that it can make a hasty retreat. Its body works overtime to ensure it outruns the predator.” You pointed to yourself. “In my case, I was under attack from three adults of my species who were being aggressive and putting stress on me. My brain perceived the danger and sent signals to the adrenal gland to get the adrenaline into my system.”

He tilted his head, your eyes gleamed.

“So, what do you remember about me, aside from injuries, from last night?”

He grimaced, clearly not thrilled at the prospect of remembering it so soon. His scientific curiosity proved too strong, however, and he sat back with a hum.

“dilated pupils, chapped lips, quick and shallow breathing... uh, you kept whipping your head around at the slightest noise until the cops showed up.”

You nodded in affirmation. “Right. All of that was thanks to the adrenaline in my body. Heightened awareness, dry mouth, all the stuff you noticed were effects of the fight or flight response.”

He finally chuckled, a breakthrough at last! “guess you picked fight.”

“Damn right! I fucked them up pretty good until, uh...” Now  _ you  _ were the uncomfortable one. You touched your throat, remembering the pressure, that horrible burn in your lungs.... you shook your head and smiled at Sans. “Until you stepped in and finished them off.”

 

You clenched and unclenched your fists, remembering the feeling of your knuckles hitting something other than a punching bag. Had you not been in such a bad situation, it could have even been exhilarating. After a quick breath, you relaxed yourself, shrugging and leaning back against Sans.

 

“But yeah. It's chemicals. Actually a lot of me is chemicals”

 

“how much is a lot?” He asked.

 

“Well about sixty percent of me is water, and technically water is a chemical... I mean  _ hell.  _ The blood is chemicals, the acid in my stomach is chemicals, pretty much every electrical impulse in my brain is fired through a chemical in some way. Humans have lots of weird shit in them.”

He nodded in agreement. “yeah, humans sound, uh, pretty complicated.”

“We and every other multi-celled organism out there. Even single cells have a lot going on.”

“makes me glad we monsters are just made of magic.” He stated. “no cells or chemicals involved.”

“What about blood?” You retorted. “And dude I’ve  _ seen _ you sweat.”

He chuckled and shrugged. “magic. seriously. most monsters bleed and sweat and cry n stuff, but it’s like condensed magic given physical form... and even then it’s not that much magic anyways.”

“Do you n’ Papyrus bleed?”

 

Papyrus returned with a tall glass of water and three different pills. You took them with a gracious smile as he took the remote from the table. It was his turn to have the TV now, that was fair. He flicked it to Food Network and scooted his chair closer as Sans shook his head, responding to your question.

 

“nah. something sharp might leave a nick in the bone, but nothing really comes out.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully while you downed all the medicine with water. “well, i suppose if you cut deep enough... i’m big boned, remember?” He winked at you playfully. “takes a lot to wound me, trust me.”

“THAT’S PHOOEY.” Papyrus almost snorted. “IF YOU WERE SO TOUGH YOU WOULDN’T SLEEP ALL THE TIME.” He raised a finger, but did not peel his eyes from the screen. “AND YOU’D ACTUALLY PICK UP YOUR STUFF, AND YOU WOULD GO ON MORNING JOGS WITH ME AND UNDYNE.”

“aw come on bro.” Sans laughed. “you know me. i dont have the  _ guts _ for that sorta stuff.”

 

Papyrus’ jaw locked, his eyes narrowing as he seethed. He chose to turn up the volume on the TV instead of saying something. And here he’d almost had a pun free day... almost. While he was having his silent fit, you and Sans had burst into laughter, the skeleton putting his hand on your shoulder so as to not double over and fall off the couch. Your chest ached slightly as you settled down from the high, sighing and slumping back in unison with your boyfriend. He continued to giggle a bit longer, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. Once he'd settled, he leaned towards you, lowering his voice so only you could hear.

 

“thanks... for, uh, getting my mind off certain stuff.”

“You gonna be okay?” You asked, a bit of that worry coming back. He just chuckled.

“i’ll be fine.”   


 

He yawned and slowly sat up, moving his hand from your shoulder to the middle of you back. He coughed, clearing his throat and speaking up.

“well uh, puns aside we should get you doing that breathing stuff.”

You deflated. “Do I have to?”

“THE EXERCISES ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO YOUR HEALING.” Papyrus said, not looking away from the tv for even a second. “MY BROTHER WILL HELP. HE’S GOOD AT THAT SOMETIMES YOU KNOW.”

“it’s true.” Sans replied with a grin, eyes lidded in their usual manner. “when i’m awake i’m super helpful. like right now. helping the human friend. wide awake.”  
He patted your back gently, shifting to face you more.

“you good to go?”

“Do you know what to do?” You asked.

“alphys has the occasional anxiety attack. deep breathin’ exercises can’t be too different.”

You shrugged. “Fair point... so... like, in seven and out eight right?”

“yeah. but i guess for you, you should also try to fill up those lungs as much as you can.”

 

You nodded, tried to dull your senses, and took in your first breath.

 

One...

 

~———————~

 

Neither Sans or Papyrus were satisfied until you’d convinced them that the medicine had taken full effect, watching and listening with ernest to your controlled breaths as Sans noted your face relaxing more and more. The pain was ebbing away, that was good.

Papyrus had deemed it time for him to go to bed a little before you were done, and a quick glance to the clock noted that it was indeed already nine. Your shoulders slumped, and you pouted, giving Sans a hangdog look until he relented, allowing you to relax and breathe normal.

And so they sat for a while in silence, both unsure of what to say. Sans grabbed the remote and looked it over, rubbing a thumb along your shoulder as he pondered what to say. You were spent, so to speak. He cleared his throat eventually though.

 

“so uh, movie?”

You blinked, tilting your head to look at him. Your arms were folded across your stomach and your brows furrowed as you pondered it.

“Hm... Song of The Sea?”

“sure.”

That was the one with the faerie stuff wasn't it? He remembered the seals on the cover image well enough. He went through their fancy digital library, eyes going over numerous other titles the three of the had accumulated over the months. Once he had the movie playing he settled back. Pulling you closer to do only the best of things; nothing whatsoever.

 

You were quiet, humming to the the occasional song but not talking too much. He picked up the tune about halfway through the film, and hummed with you. He didn't mind the lack of conversation. In fact, he loved the quiet moments the most. It gave him time to think, to look back, and be more himself for a while... perhaps it was why he'd taken up so many sentry jobs in the underground. Until the kid had come along, things had been quiet, almost peaceful.

It was fascinating, he noted while the movie went on, how much humans adored the concept of magic. He'd always wondered why they clung to it for so long. They thought it was fantasy, they'd thought monsters like him weren't real. And yet... they loved magic. It almost gave him hope.

 

It was just a bit past 11 by the time the credits rolled, the quiet still dominating the room as they stared at the names go by. To Sans’ mild surprise, you were yawning while he messed with the remote again. You really were exhausted if you were sleepy before midnight. He rubbed your shoulder and tried not to yawn himself.

“ready for bed?” He asked you. You just shrugged tiredly.

“I dunno. It's not even midnight yet.”

“yeah but you're already yawning like crazy.”

“Ugh I hate it.” You pouted, crossing your arms... before yawning again.

Sans chuckled quietly. “it's been a long day.”

You sighed, letting your head drop. “Fine. True. I could sleep.”

 

Sans sat up, bring you along so that you didn't try to sleep on the couch. Moving you was always a hassle, and he didn't care to put in the effort once you were out.

 

You and him stood and walked towards the two halls, pausing for what felt like an eternity, the two of you looking off towards your rooms over each other's’ shoulders. Sans stuffed his hands into his pockets and rolled back and forth on his heels, thinking of how to end the night. You still looked down, so he opted for something... cheerful.

He tilted his head, as if trying to get a better look at your downturned face.

“so did you grow up with horses as a kid or something?”

Your eyes met his and you tilted in the opposite direction.

“Huh?”

He winked. “‘cuz you got a pretty long face.”

You snorted and cracked a smile, and Sans stood up straight, a pleased grin on his face.

“there’s my addy. laughing at even my bad jokes.”

 

“All your jokes are bad Sans. It's why I like them.”

 

“ouch.” He laughed, clutching his chest as if in pain. “if that hadn't been a compliment i’d be heartbroken.”  
Your smile grew, and Sans, satisfied, began to walk past you. He patted your shoulder gently.

“see ya in the morning. k?”

 

He continued walking, not thinking much else until you tugged on his sleeve with a sharp “Wait!”

 

He halted immediately, turning slightly to look back at you. For a moment he saw desperation, but you quickly covered it with a lowered head and furrowed brows. You let go of his sleeve and looked away, rubbing your arm in an all too familiar gesture of worry.

“what's wrong?” He asked quietly, and you stood there silently in visible contemplation. He tried to check your soul for dullness, but found that you'd managed to, somehow, subconsciously hide it, or obscure it enough to make it hard to focus on. He almost spoke again until your voice broke the silence.

“They... know where we live. Probably which room is mine...” you frowned, shoulders getting stiff. “I thought.. maybe...” you sighed. “It's stupid I just--”

 

“what's stupid?”

 

Your face scrunched up and relaxed, and you fiddled with your sleeve nervously. “I... don't want to sleep, uh, on my own. Or be by myself...”

Your head dropped more, and your voice got almost quiet enough to be a whisper.

“It's stupid. I'm stronger than this.”

 

Oh... oh he understood now.

 

“woah woah woah, hold on come here.”

He turned fully and put both hands on your shoulders, lowering himself the whole three inches’ height difference to be eye level with you. You didn't look up straight away, clearly frustrated at yourself. Sans’ brows furrowed slightly.

“it's not stupid. you don't feel safe alone because of some creeps? that’s okay. i don't blame you.”  You looked up, he smiled slightly.  “i mean shit happened less than a day ago, right? and you've been acting super tough about it.”

You grimaced.

“Well sure, but shouldn't I keep being tough about it? I mean just look at Undyne. Never breaks the big bad exterior for a second.”

“undyne has ten years on the both of us, addy. she's had time to perfect the craft.”

You fell silent, crossing your arms with a scowl. Sans’ smile fell and he gestured his head backwards, hands still on your shoulders.

“come on. don’t want to be on your own while you sleep? i don’t mind sharing my room if it makes you feel safer.”

You paused. He waited patiently. You finally looked back at him, rubbing your arm.

“You sure?”

He nodded. “sure. that’s a boyfriend is supposed to do right? make their partner feel better and all that.”

You smiled, just a little, at that. “Yeah. That sounds right.” Your shoulders slumped and you let out a long sigh. “Thank you.”

“any time.” he said with a wink that he was sure you almost missed. 

 

He turned around, trusting you to follow, and he could hear it was true. While the walk itself was just about a dozen steps on a low energy day like today, it seemed to drag on with the silence. You never liked going in his room because he never cleaned it, and even if your standards weren’t hotel-level high he noticed the way your face scrunched at the idea of stepping foot inside. Now... well, looking back as you and him reached the door, you just looked  _ tired. _

He opened the door and stepped aside, allowing you entrance. You didn’t seem to look around or care about the socks on the floor or the old schematic papers strewn about. You just held your arms at the elbows and looked at the floor. Sans sighed quietly, leaving the door open a crack for the cat’s inevitable entry later into the night. He looked to the bed, noting a few odd items which he levitated away before motioning to you.

 

“you can take the wall side if you want. further away from the window and stuff.”

 

You looked over to him, then the bed, muttering an “ok” as you made your way to it. He watched you sit down, then slide your legs over the side. You moved towards the walls until there was nowhere left to go, then looked back to Sans. He just kicked off his slippers and followed you, which earned him a funny look.

“Aren't you gonna wear pjs or something?” You asked.

“nah.”

“... Are those your pjs then?”

“nope.”

Your face crinkled with growing disgust and he couldn't help but laugh. “i sneak this outfit and its twin into the laundry all the time. it annoys the hell out of paps.”

He sat down at the edge of the bed and also brought his feet up, nudging them under the pile of covers at the end. You just stared on, more confused than before.

“I don't think I've ever seen your clothes in the wash.”

“i also sneak them out.”

 

You paused, looking at him in disbelief as he gave you that lazy toothy smile. After a moment you just shook your head, leaning forward to grab the sheets proper.

“You're obsessed with your image of laziness, you know that right?”

He chortled and leaned back, shifting to put his skull down on his favorite pillow, waiting for you to nudge into that usual spot under his chin, right where he could wiggle his jaw to mess with your hair.

“keeps my bro on his toes. can you imagine what it'd be like in this house with both of us being lazy.”

He shook his head as if horrified by the idea.

“total upheaval of the natural order.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,  _ lazybones. _ ” You sighed, gently falling back until you two were shoulder to shoulder.

 

A couple of corpses ready for the coffin is what he felt like this was, for a moment. A bit stiff and awkward from energy all spent. This wouldn't do, it'd just be weird. He shifted to his side to face you, stuffing an arm under his head to support it.

 

“you know...” he started, eyes flicking up to the ceiling before falling to you. “my dad was really interested in behavior stuff outside of his work.”

You paused, and he saw your brows knitting as you figured out why he'd brought this up. You turned to face him as well, mirroring him almost perfectly.

“Yeah?”

“mhmm. he was always giving me fun facts over dinner or while I was reading or something. ‘s probably what helped get me into being a scientist like him. the way he lit up when talking about his work is what did it though.” 

He nodded to himself, recalling the fonder memories he still had, even if time was making them fuzzy. You waited patiently, and he appreciated it as he continued.

“one day he's doing a routine check on my magic to make sure it's still stable, and he suddenly says ‘You know, bravery is a funny thing outside of the business of souls.’” He'd changed his way of speaking as he recalled it. Less casual, more, well, aged and refined. “‘People think it's all about acting tough and rushing in against impossible odds, but it's not.’ i was kinda confused at that, but he just kept going on about it.” Sans closed his eyes, visualizing the memory more clearly. “‘Bravery isn't just confronting fears, my boy, it's knowing when to admit you're scared or need help.’ it stuck with me, so I passed it on to my lil bro, and now i guess i’m passing it on to you.

 

He opened one eye slowly to watch you as the meaning dawned on you. Your face seemed to light up in the dark, eyes just a little wider for a moment. Your body relaxed all at once, and you smiled. A nice, big, full smile without forcing it, which is the most he'd seen out of you all day. He adored that smile.

 

“Your dad sounds like he was a cool person.”

“he was super cool,” he confirmed, “you would have gotten along with him pretty well.”

“I'm sure,” you giggled. You inched your way closer and he gladly raised his arm to drape over you. You nestled in right in that spot under his chin, as he'd hoped. He couldn't really see your face from this position, but he could feel you sighing against his neck.

“Thanks... I mean it.”

“anytime. ‘s what i’m here for.”

 

For a while, it seemed like that was it. You and him lay there in the dark, moving to get into just the right spot for sleep. He was ready to say goodnight when he could feel you sharply inhaling. He paused, unsure if it was pain or... words.

 

“Hey... Sans?”

 

Words, okay that was good. He closed his eyes and smiled. “yeah?”

 

“This... is like a uh... love thing. Right?”

 

That took him by surprise, and he opened his eyes again, trying to look down but only managing to see his arm around you back. He could tell you were waiting for a response, breath hitched as if any movement would be the last. He puzzled over it, considering for the first time that, well... maybe it was.

“well... if love is giving up a bit of personal space to make sure you’re happy and safe... then i guess so.”

He paused, furrowing his brows as his lazy grin faded. He shifted slightly, if only to hold onto you better.

“Is, uh, that how you’re feeling? about us?”

Silence... a sigh against his neck. He felt you nodding, ever so slightly.

“I think so.” You confirmed, and his soul skipped a pulsation. “I’m still figuring it out.”

You shrugged. “Maybe I just feel like this because you saved my life last night, and it’s some messed up hero’s admiration gone too far... I don’t want it to be, but I just can’t figure it out yet.”

 

His soul still pulsated as he listened to your confession, and he idly rubbed your back as he contemplated what to say. You again spoke before he had the chance.

 

“Is that weird?”

 

He blinked, then shook his head almost desperately.

“no, no! of course not sweetheart. i understand and it’s okay and stuff.”

“Yeah?”

“of course! take all the time you need. i won’t go anywhere or pressure you or anything okay?”

 

He felt you let out that bated breath in a long, relieved sigh, and you nuzzled up further against his neck.

“Thank you.” he heard you say quietly, and he couldn’t help but smile and relax again. 

 

He rubbed your back slowly, letting out a slow yawn as his body started falling victim to the lull of sweet sleep. He waited for you first, just to make sure, but you were out quickly. He chuckled, made sure the sheets were all the way up, and slowly wiggled his jaw against the top of your head.

 

“sleep well, adelaide. see ya in the morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [BOTHER ME](http://zonbiconbi.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
>  
> 
> 5.5k words -collapses-
> 
> But hey, it was fun, and I was consistently writing even while at Disney ;O


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